Inge Maria Andritz (2010), Dissolving Space. Mies Van Der Rohe and Japan. An Association, Institute of Spatial Design; 1st reviewer: Irmgard Frank, 2nd reviewer: Adrian Meyer; 306 pages, German.
This study investigates contentual parallels between the concept of space used by Mies van der Rohe and space in traditional Japanese residential buildings. It is divided into 9 chapters and 3 horizontal plot lines. M stands for Mies van der Rohe, J for Japan, T for Transfer. The point of origin of the investigation is the development of space in the work of Mies van der Rohe, theme of chapters M1 - M3. The Miesian Oeuvre is divided into 3 periods of creation, for each of which one representative project is chosen for the study of spatial phenomenons. M1 focuses on the project of a brick country house, M2 on the pavilion for the world fair in Barcelona, M3 on House Farnsworth. In the second horizontal plot line J1 - J3, aspects of the traditional Japanese house and of Japanese culture are viewed side by side with the formulation of space in Mies' work, assigned to plot line M as 'associations'. J1 considers the fundamental principles of the Villa Katsura, J2 considers the characteristics of Japanese lightweight design and of the house as a set of perceptions, J3 considers the phenomenon of the one-room in Japan. The Transfer plot line points out different ways of exchange between Japan and the west with possible connections to Mies van der Rohe in the chapters T1 - T3. T1 is about the role of Frank Lloyd Wright and the De Stijl-group, T2 about the connections between Japan and Bauhaus, T3 about world fairs with emphasis on the Japanese contribution to the world fair in Chicago, 1893. The 9 chapters of this study can also be read connecting one creational period of Mies van der Rohe with aspects of Japanese culture and the associated intermediaries between east and west.
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