New National Gallery, Berlin, Germany (Scale model, 1/2" = 1')
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
American, born Germany. 1886–1969
1962–1968
A precise scale model in steel, plexiglass, wood and enamel that reconstructs Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s design for the New National Gallery, aiming to demonstrate a single, column‑supported glass pavilion that blurs inside and outside.
You’re struck by a wide, flat black roof that seems to float on slender dark columns above transparent glass walls, revealing an uninterrupted, airy interior where furniture and galleries appear to hang in space.
The model embodies Mies’s modernist ideal of universal, open space and minimal structure, a pivotal statement in twentieth‑century architecture that redefined museums as flexible, neutral containers for art.
Medium
Steel, plexiglass, wood, cotton and enamel
Dimensions
8 1/4 x 52 x 52" (21 x 132.1 x 132.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the architect
Accession
MC 55
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
