Dirk Lohan will discuss his personal and professional experiences with renowned German-American architect, and his grandfather, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
In partnership with the Mies van der Rohe Society, Illinois Institute of Technology, the Washington Architectural Foundation, and the DC Public Library Foundation, the DC Public Library is pleased to host a presentation by Dirk Lohan, FAIA, noted Chicago architect and grandson of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
Lohan will discuss his personal and professional experiences with the renowned German-American architect, regarded as one of the pioneers of modernist architecture.
Lohan began to record his conversations with Mies in the summer of 1969. The tapes, recorded during the final weeks of Mies’ life, captured some of the architect’s very last words. “We had lively discussions on those evenings about our work, my daily life and his experiences during his long career,” says Lohan. “When we talked about his life in Germany, we spoke German with each other, while American projects were discussed in English...it occurred to me that a practical solution might be to purchase a tape recorder and simply record our talks, not least as a resource for future researchers.”
A recent publication, The Lost, Last Words of Mies van der Rohe: The Lohan Tapes from 1969, has been edited and annotated by Fritz Neumeyer. The book features a foreword by Lohan and an introductory essay by Fritz Neumeyer, one of the world’s foremost scholars on Mies, exploring Mies’ early career and his architectural way of thinking.
A special thank you to Mies Society members Margaret and David Hensler for their generous sponsorship of this event!