IIT Master Plan, Chicago, IL (Campus, aerial perspective, preliminary version)
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
American, born Germany. 1886–1969
c. 1939-40
An aerial perspective rendering of Mies van der Rohe’s preliminary master plan for the Illinois Institute of Technology, drawn in pencil and conte to show his aim of ordering campus life into disciplined, rectilinear blocks and sheltered courtyards.
Seen from above the sheet reads like a precise diagram: thin, measured lines lay out long, low slabs and inward-facing courtyards, with subtle shading and a soft atmospheric perspective that make the rigid geometry feel hushed and spacious.
The drawing translates Mies’s modernist principles—structural clarity, repetition, and open civic spaces—into a campus model that helped define the International Style’s influence on mid‑20th‑century American architecture.
Medium
Pencil, conte crayon on illustration board
Dimensions
39 15/16 x 51" (101.5 x 129.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Mies van der Rohe Archive, gift of the architect
Accession
719.1963
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
