Mies van der Rohe Society

Jul, 28, 2010,
6:47 PM

Next stop: LEGO City

Nearly 1,200 kids (and parents) descended upon Crown Hall last Saturday to craft a sprawling, small-scale cityscape made entirely of LEGOS. Their creations combine to make a colorful 3,000-square foot city.

The entire project will be on exhibit in Crown Hall—under Andy Warhol’s Silver Clouds—through August 1st.

[Exactly how do you wrangle a thousand pint-sized architects? With a carefully crafted, 3,000 sq. ft. ground plan, that’s how.]

This program was made possible by the Mies van der Rohe Society’s partnership with the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust.

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Jul, 19, 2010,
5:20 AM

Carr Chapel gets ready for its close-up

Built in 1952, Mies’ only religious building is in the process of being restored to the quiet beauty of its intended function. Dubbed “the God Box” by generations of IIT students, Carr Memorial Chapel serves as a non-denominational place for gathering, worship, and engagement.

Fifty-plus years after completion, Carr Chapel was in a state of serious decline. The Mies Society, which raises funds to restore and preserve core buildings on IIT’s Mies campus, launched a fundraising campaign to save Carr Chapel.

Through generous support from the IIT community at large, funds are being raised and services donated to ensure that Carr Chapel can once again function as the spiritual center for IIT. Exterior work has been completed. Currently, $350,000 still needs to be raised to finish work on the building’s interior.

Most recently, the curtain that spans the back wall of the chapel has been replaced, in gorgeous form.

Mies Society Board member Bob Kleinschmidt—consulting with original project architect, Gene Summers—spearheaded the effort to recreate the chapel curtain. Fabric was specially woven in Italy by Donghia and then pleated and hung by Cornel Erdbeer of Ludwig Interiors. The curtain fabric, hung using Mies’ desired inverted pleating system, is an ivory pongee slubbed silk that matches the original fabric as closely as possible. Both Donghia, Inc. and Erdbeer generously donated materials and services in honor of this important project.

As with all restoration projects, support is welcome from all corners. Interested in contributing to this historic effort? Contact the Mies Society to find out how you can make help make a difference to Carr Chapel.

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Jul, 13, 2010,
9:47 PM

Final weeks of Silver Clouds

Hundreds of Andy Warhol’s Silver Clouds have been floating inside the vast space of Mies van der Rohe’s S. R. Crown Hall this summer. This is the largest installation yet of Silver Clouds—don’t miss it!

Through August 1, 2010

Wednesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

S.R. Crown Hall, 3360 S. State Street, Chicago, IL 60616

Entry: $5 for exhibition only (at the door), free for kids under 10.

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Andy Warhol, Silver Clouds [Warhol Museum Series], 1994, refabricated for The Andy Warhol Museum in cooperation with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. and Billy Klüver, 1994, helium-filled metalized plastic film (Scotchpak), The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh.

Image: Dan Kuruna.

© 2010 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Reproduction, including downloading of Andy Warhol works, is prohibited by copyright laws and international conventions without the express written permission of Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

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Jun, 28, 2010,
7:40 PM

Picturing Mies

Last month, IIT’s student chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIAS) held a competition featuring “likenesses of Mies.” Judges included Justine Jentes (Director, Mies Society), Donna Robertson (Dean, IIT College of Architecture), and several IIT faculty members. Congratulations to the winners, and a big round of applause to all who participated!

First place went to Michael Gillhouse: