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Mies, Myth and Modernism
29 Apr 2018
Are the values of modernism still relevant today? Is modernist style out of date? Who are the great cultural figures we mythologise and do they ever deserve such veneration? To mark the launch of the new book Mies in London, architect Jack Self (Director, REAL) leads a discussion with Yulia Rudenko (Co-editor, Mies in London), James Taylor-Foster (Curator, ArkDes) and Christina Varvia (Research Coordinator, Forensic Architecture).
'Less is more' modernist, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, only designed one project for the UK, a 1963 bronze tower and grand plaza located in the City of London. However, amid political intrigue and controversy, his masterpiece was scuppered in the early 1980s after decades of struggle. Mies in London, edited and published by the Real Estate Architecture Laboratory foundation, is the first chronicle of this remarkable project, bringing together data, documents and interviews with the commission's lead protagonists. This salient book offers insight into the shifting relationship between architectural practice and notions of public and private land ownership in London and other cities.
