Mies, like many of his post World War I contemporaries, sought to establish a new architectural style that could represent modern times just as Classical and Gothic did for their own eras. He created an influential 20th century architectural style, stated with extreme clarity and simplicity. His mature buildings made use of modern materials such as industrial steel and plate glass to define interior spaces.
His furniture is known for fine craftsmanship, a mix of traditional luxurious fabrics like leather combined with modern chrome frames, and a distinct separation of the supporting structure and the supported surfaces, often employing cantilevers to enhance the feeling of lightness created by delicate structural frames. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is one of the pioneers of Modernism. It is without debate that this innovative architect and designer was a pivotal figure in the Modernist Movement. His chair designed for the 1929 International Exposition Exhibition in Barcelona, Spain stands to be the iconic piece that many agree embodies all of his principals and philosophies in one masterpiece of design.
Formato nello studio di Peter Behrens (come Gropius e Le Corbusier) e cresciuto negli influssi del De Stijl, nel 1930 Mies Van Der Rohe fu chiamato alla direzione della Bauhaus, succedendo a Annes Meier, che tenne fino alla sua chiusura.
Non solo autore di costruzioni rivoluzionarie ma anche di mobili di volta in volta ad esse dedicate: alla costruzione del sobborgo di Stoccarda "Wessenhof" (1927), all'allestimento del Padiglione Tedesco all'Esposizione Internazionale di Barcelona (1929), al progetto della Casa Tugendhat a Brno sono legati disegni di sedie e poltrone di estrema raffinatezza ed eleganza.
