Steel and Stone: Constructive Concepts by Peter Behrens and Mies van der Rohe

Two of the greatest modern architects, Behrens & Mies van der Rohe had quite similar approaches to the aesthetics of steel, which haven't been mentioned by architects or art historians so far. Steel & Stones examines the "grammar of detailing" from Behrens's AEG Turbine Factory to Mies's IIT Campus in Chicago & his later American skyscrapers. The author analyses the changing role of steel constructions from industrial mainstream towards a highly expressive vocabulary of "building art" & shows how the limits of traditional typological thinking are erased step by step. The author also argues that the unrevealing of formerly hidden steel skeletons & the unfolding of their aesthetic potential is made possible by the influence of photography. As a medium of cultural exchange it traces the flow of technology & aesthetics between Germany & the United States.Behrens, Peter is the author of 'Steel and Stone: Constructive Concepts by Peter Behrens and Mies van der Rohe', published 2002 under ISBN 9783907078457 and ISBN 3907078454.