Mies im Westen

Mies's life and work show his close attachment to his home region and many of his activities in North Rhine Westphalia.

The exhibition "Mies im Westen" 2019 takes place from the 16th of May to the 30th of June at the Mies van der Rohe Business Park. The HE-Building of the former VerseidAG is the only industrial building constructed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1931 and a special place of the exhibition. 

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was born in 1886 in Aachen. He became a famous architect because of his projects in Berlin and Chicago. However, his early work in North Rhein Westphalia is a common theme throughout his life. A student of him described Mies as a Rhinelander. In a regional network, he created many projects in Aachen, Essen and especially Krefeld. He realized many of them, some stayed a vision, and over ones got destroyed in World War Two. Interestingly most of his projects in North Rhine Westphalia aren't part of research or publications, except "Haus Lange" and "Haus Esters". Moreover, Mies van der Rohe had a great influence on the post-war era architecture, so today you can find many of his ideas in the buildings, where "Mies im Westen" left his marks.

Three places:  Aachen | Essen | Krefeld

Three stages of life: Apprentice (1900-05) | Avantgarde/ Bauhaus (1927-38) | World-famous Architect (1950s/60s)

Three project groups: Ungebaut | Gebaut | Zerstört

His North Rhine Westphalian projects show Mies van der Rohe's life's journey, from a Rhenish apprentice of crafting to the world famous architect of modernism. Furthermore, you can see the progress lines of the architecture of the 20th century from Jugendstil to the International Style. His great influence inspired young architects already during his lifetime. There are many buildings in Rhineland reflecting his works. 

Project: grenzWertig | Mies im Westen 2019.

It's not easy to impart the complex oeuvre of that architect and his impact on the post-war era architecture. At the project "grenzWertig" from the "M:AI Museum für Architektur und Ingenieurkunst NRW" many teachers and students of local architecture colleges (Alanus Hochschule Alfter, TH Köln, THM Giessen, TU Dortmund, Hochschule Rhein-Sieg, RWTH Aachen) worked on the question, how technical, social, communicative and mediating abilities must be combined by a modern architect. 

Exhibition and Intervention

2019 is the year of the centenary of Bauhaus-movement and the 50th anniversary of Mies's death. The students of THM Giessen (Prof. Norbert Hanenberg) and TH Köln (Prof. Dr. Daniel Lohmann) prepared exhibitions, interventions, and publications to honor Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's work at the three main places of activity in North Rhine Westphalia. These creative and textual projects happen in the early summer of 2019. "Mies im Westen" in Aachen, Krefeld, and Essen shows the relevance of Mies's buildings with architectural and areal exhibits.  

The "Landeshaus of LVR" at the  Rhineside of Cologne from the late 1950s illustrates as an outstanding example the influence of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and his architecture of the post-war era. As a central point, it will piece together all the exhibitions and this fourth part like a puzzle, that underlines the lasting impact of Mies's architecture of the 20th century. The collected exhibition will take place in Cologne - the center of Rhineland - in autumn 2019. 

In addition to these various events, there are lectures of the colleges, excursions, guidance, and symposiums, like the voices of some specialists, talking about the architectural heritage of Mies van der Rohe in North Rhine Westphalia and elsewhere.

Contact:

Mies van der Rohe Business Park
Matthias Berghaus
Girmesgath 5, 47808 Krefeld
+49 2151 440826
http://www.mies-van-der-rohe.com
bauhaus@mies-van-der-rohe.com

Dates:

Exhibition opening with a presentation Wed., 15.05.2019
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Daniel Lohmann
Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Norbert Hanenberg

The permanent exhibition in celebration of 100 years of Bauhaus movement with additional exhibits lasts till the end of 2019. From October till November the exhibition takes place in Cologne, in Winter 2019/20 you can see it at the THM Giessen.

Project Groups

TH Köln - the University of Technology, Arts, Sciences
Institute of Architectural History and Historic Preservation
Professor Architectural History and Design
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Daniel Lohmann

THM University of Applied Sciences Mittelhessen
Faculty Architecture
Faculty Design and Construction
Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Architect BDA Norbert Hanenberg

M:AI NRW
Museum für Architektur und Ingenieurkunst NRW e.V.
Peter Köddermann (Projektleitung)
Dr. Ursula Kleefisch-Jobst (Leitung)

The outside area is open to the public. In the HE-Building work different companies, so you can only visit the stairwell and corridors. In the main floor is an information center and a Café. If you look for a guided tour, please call us or visit our website.