Silk Administration Building, project, Krefeld, Germany (Perspective of rear elevation)
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
American, born Germany. 1886–1969
1938
A 1938 perspective rendered in pencil on illustration board proposing a restrained steel-and-glass administration building for Krefeld’s silk industry, aiming to realize functional clarity and refined proportion through minimal structure.
You'd first notice the exacting perspective lines and taut rhythm of columns and glazing—subtle shading and delicate hatching make the flat drawing read as a light, floating pavilion of transparent planes.
The drawing crystallizes Mies’s ‘less is more’ modernism and helped codify the glass‑and‑steel office typology that dominated mid‑20th‑century corporate architecture, marking a key moment as he moved from European modernism toward his influential American practice.
Medium
Pencil on illustration board
Dimensions
28 5/8 x 40 1/8" (72.7 x 101.9 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Purchase
Accession
256.1986
Art Terms
Exhibitions
