Mies adopted an ambitious lifelong mission to create not only a new architectural style, but also a solid intellectual foundation for a new architectural language that could be used to represent the new era of technology and production. He saw a need for an architecture expressive of and in harmony with his epoch, just as Gothic architecture was for an era of spiritualism. He applied a disciplined design process using rational thought to achieve his spiritual goals. He adopted the idea that architecture communicated the meaning and significance of the culture in which it exists. The self-educated Mies painstakingly studied the great philosophers and thinkers of the past and of the day to enhance his own understanding of the character and essential qualities of the times he lived in. More than perhaps any other practising pioneer of modernism, Mies used philosophy as a basis for his work. Mies’ architecture was created at a high level of abstraction, and his own descriptions of his work leave much room for interpretation. Yet his buildings also seem very direct and simple when viewed in person.
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