Today is the 129th birthday of Mies van der Rohe, the great 20th century architect whose pioneering work with glass and steel helped define modern architecture as we know it. So obviously we're celebrating. All over the Curbediverse today, we'll be taking a fervent look at Mies and his legacy, a party you can also follow along on Twitter with the hashtag #MiesDay. But first, here are five important, fun, or otherwise intriguing facts about Mies to get the day started:
5. Mies served as the last director of Bauhaus, the famous German school for experimental art and design, before closing it down under Nazi pressure in 1933 and emigrating to the U.S. in 1937.