The architectural details of the Illinois Institute of Technology by Mies van der Rohe

Abstract

This article explains the process by which Ludwig Mies van der Rohe approximates the most "beautiful", abstract and universal structural and constructive solution in the buildings of the Illinois Institute of Technology. Mies van der Rohe works with steel but when the material is not available or the conditions are not appropriate, he explores, without protest and with the same depth, other structural materials and or systems. Mies always tries to define satisfactory solutions, because for him projects’ structural clarity not only means identifying the most suitable structure, but and not at the least deepening and optimizing the characteristic order of the structure. When analyzing the structural systems and its relation with the used materials, we discover that for him the most important aspect is the visual structure of the objects and the gradual evolution towards more abstract solutions. Observation of the architectural details reveals that the constructive solution of a project is a ‘consequence’ of the previous and the ‘cause’of the following. The problem of the relation between structure and enclosure, and between materials with different behavior are addressed in the design process. The relation of the structure with each of the architectural elements, as walls or joinery, means hard detailing work, where the final solution evolves over a series of stages and ends with the most universal, economic and rigorous solution. Throughout the study, presented herein, different solutions of a structure are examined and presented together with its rigorous and ordered detail. We clearly detected in his work an evolution towards abstract, essential, paradigmatic and general solutions.