Customer Reviews

Mies van der Rohe - Lake Shore Drive Apartments: High-Rise Building / Wohnhochhaus (Mies Van Der Rohe Archive) (German and English Edition)

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A nice black & white photo collection of Mie's first executed, steel frame highrises. Many photos show the towers in the context of the surrounding cityscape over a timespan of many decades. This illustrates the progression from their initial architectural contrast with the buildings of an earlier era to their later surrounding by the very megastructures they foreshadowed. Other, tighter views allow study of the proportions and detailing so important in the work of Mies. We're taken inside an apartment (apparently between tenants with a few pieces of Mie's designed furniture temporarally installed as props) to get a feel of the spaces and views afforded by floor to ceiling, wall to wall windows. A floor plan shows us the open plan apartment layout proposed by the architect, but rejected by the developer as being too radical. Unfortunately, a plan of the built scheme is not provided for comparison. A site/lobby plan, horizontal and vertical wall sections, a couple of perspective drawing/collages and photo of a smiling Mies round out the visual presentation. All photos are presented one to a page/full page size or one image covering two full pages: an excellent method of presentation.

The relatively brief text describes the why and how of the design. Also, a discussion of the pluses and minuses of living in these ground breaking apartments is offered by a long time resident.

Though much information is provided in this book, I feel there is more that could have been revealed about its history and construction. While the definitive book on 860/880 is yet to be written, this volume is a worthwhile addition to anyone's Miesian library.