Mies's Grandson to Smash Grandaddy's Building

By Andrew Peerless in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 26, 2005 4:22PM

During discussions of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Illinois Institute of Technology campus, one particular building is always a bit more discussed, revered and admired than the rest: Crown Hall. An engineering masterpiece that features a clearly expressed, massive steel frame and a ceiling suspended from the I-beams that cross above it, the building ranks among Fallingwater and Villa Savoye as one of the 20th century's finest architectural works. So Mies's grandson is going to commemmorate it by smashing it with a hammer.

Dirk Lohan, co-founder of Lohan Anderson architects and grandson of Mies van der Rohe himself, recently won an eBay auction that entitles him to officially begin the second phase of Crown Hall's restoration by smashing a 10-foot plate glass window with a hammer. The first phase of renovations, which replaced wiring and wood paneling, was started in 2002, while phase two will refurbish (smashed) windows and the building's dominant steel frame.

Renovations are expected to take about a year, and will hopefully be complete in time for Crown Hall's 50th anniversary, in May 2006.

Image courtesy of the Chicago Historical Society