by Dietrich Neumann (Author)
The Complex History of a Building
With the temporary
exhibition pavilion of the German Reich at the 1929 International
Exposition in Barcelona, Mies van der Rohe designed an architectural
icon, but also a controversial monument of the way the Weimar Republic
portrayed itself.
The building is one of the most unusual
success stories in the history of architecture: Despite its short
existence, its reputation grew steadily in the following decades, thanks
in part to magnificent photographs. It was soon considered the
constructed manifesto of the Modern Age, and its spatial and
"ideational" ambitions were called "a milestone of Modern architecture."
This comprehensively, broadly researched book portrays the
building's complex history and its political entanglement--up to and
including its reconstruction according to van der Rohe's plans at the
original site between 1983 and 1986.
Author Biography
Dietrich Neumann
Professor of History of Modern Architecture and Director of Urban Studies, Brown University, Providence, USA