Friedrichstrasse Skyscraper Project, Berlin-Mitte, Germany (Exterior perspective from north)
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
American, born Germany. 1886–1969
1921
A charcoal and graphite drawing on paper mounted on board proposing a monumental, glass‑like skyscraper for Berlin’s Friedrichstrasse in which Mies van der Rohe tests a pared‑down vocabulary of planar surfaces and structural clarity.
Seen from street level, the design confronts you with sheer, repetitive vertical planes and a knife‑edged corner that slice upward through a hazy, receding cityscape, making the tower feel at once monumental and translucent.
The project is an early landmark in Mies’s development of the glass‑and‑steel aesthetic that helped define the International Style, advancing ideas of abstraction, modular order, and urban monumentality in modern architecture.
Medium
Charcoal and graphite on paper mounted on board
Dimensions
68 1/4 x 48" (173.4 x 121.9 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Mies van der Rohe Archive, gift of the architect
Accession
1005.1965
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
