MYTHS AND MIES |
Pioneering Practices Project

Myths and Mies

Seventy years after his demise, the German architect Mies van der Rohe is still a mythical figure, inspiring discussions that hold valuable keys to the understanding of modernism. This project aims to unravel the mystery of Mies though the lens of material culture. By focussing on the epistemic object of the column, nine crucial projects in his oeuvre form a ‘Seriation’, or lineage, that enable a reading of the development in Mies’ thinking and designing. The analysis compares their structural setup: the architectural and spatial role, the ordering mechanisms, the choice of material and finish. In their aim for clarity of line and tectonic pureness, these structures provide insight into the modernist agenda that longed to transcend both time and place, but that could never deny the human figure. The columns enable an alternative historiography, where materials are bigger determinants than generally thought.

The project is part of the research ‘pioneering practices’, concerning the tools and methods of the architect-researcher. Through the study of canonical buildings, a set of specific analytical methods is defined and tested. The methods are directed towards an architectural understanding of the building and use means that originate in the architects’ practice where they serve their architectural thinking and making. There start from precise object observations and descriptions, resulting from building visits and collection of drawings and sketches from the archive. The projects are dissected and synthesized through analytical drawings that highlight architectural qualities such as morphology, rhythms, structure, material and detail. Specific is the drawing series that describes the genealogy of the building, offering insights into the development of the design process and the motivations of the designer. Another tool is the making of models or fragment models that add an understanding of construction and making, and of the morphological intentions and qualities. The projects can be linked in series with the tool of Seriation, that reveals developments over time, and between architects and projects.

Teachers: 
Caroline Voet
Eireen Schreurs

Students:
Ine Beuten
Sophie Brewaeys
Milenca Persoons Barbe
Greta Anceschi
Michelle Battini
Zhaowei Huang
Louis Francois
Yahya  Darwich
Robert Baljsevic
Tom Hulsbosch
Frieke Stouthuysen
Ayton Van Den Bossche
Gauthier Algoet
Emily Laureys
Wannes De Brouwer
Brecht De Roose
Lars Hemmeryckx
Hélène Callewaert
Max Scheffer
Maxim Lannaux
Kjell Lemaire
Silke Jacobs
Anne-Lien Maekelbergh
Simeon Rondas
Miguel Vervacke
Thierry Nicolas
Hannes Overmeire
Ian Verbiest
Jeroen Constant