Author Description

In the last few years several of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's buildings were restored. Of all things, the meticulousness of the structural details, which was always so important to Mies when he devised his designs, is absent in many cases of restored Mies buildings today. In the exhibition in Heerlen, the curator Andrea Croé does not address the broad spectrum of Mies?s structures that have been restored or converted, but rather focuses on the five major exemplary edifices: The exhibition showcases five current best-practice examples in Europe and the United States. Chicago is represented by Crown Hall on the IIT campus, the neighboring Robert F. Carr Memorial Chapel, and the apartment high-rises on Lake Shore Drive. From Europe two pre-War projects were selected whose subsequent use could scarcely be greater in contrast: Whereas Villa Tugendhat in Brno, having been restored as far as possible to its original state, was turned into a museum, the Verseidag production and warehouse buildings in Krefeld, some of which are still ruins while others are in the process of being restored, will soon be the heart of a new business park for creatives.00Exhibition: Schunck Glaspaleis, Heerlen, The Netherlands (10.04.-07.08.2016).