Honeycomb, competition entry, Berlin
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 1922
In 1921, Mies van der Rohe participated in a competition for a high-rise office building on Friedrichstraße in Berlin. His unusual – and promptly rejected – design for the block was probably intended as a programmatic study, which he presented to the public at this opportunity. From the current perspective, the design is visionary because, for first time, all of the main floor space was designed for flexible use and the façade was completely glazed. It is the first example of Mies van der Rohe’s “skin-and-bones” architecture that was to dominate his later designs.
Bergdoll, Barry (2009): Sheer Glass Wrapping for a New Architectural Expression. Mies van der Rohe's Entry Honeycomb for the Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse Competition, in: Bauhaus: A Conceptual Model, publ. by Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung, Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and Klassik Stiftung Weimar, Exhibition Catalogue, Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz, pg. 115ff.