S.R. Crown Hall
Architect: Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe
IIT Campus, Chicago, IL
1956
Period: Modernism (Functionalism) - 'an objective, scientific approach to design so that form would derive logically from use, structure and material, rather than from the nostalgic consideration of historical styles, convention, and ornament' (Ideas of Order, 352)
S.R. Crown Hall embodies Mies slogan of 'less is more' and an architectural example of late -Modernism. The vast column-less interior demonstrates the push for an adaptive, free changing, universal space to house the College of Architecture at IIT. Pushing the limits of steel and glass technology of the time, Crown Hall's beautifully detailed structure enables the interior and exterior to purely demonstrate Mies desires for pure expression of construction and materials.
jazzy_fact: to jump-start Crown Hall's 2005 renovation, Mies grandson Dirk Lohan (after winning the opportunity via an eBay auction) smashed one of the 10' tall windows with a sledge hammer (http://archrecord.construction.com/resources/conteduc/archives/0601edit-1.asp)
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