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Reason of Traditionalism to modernism
(show the aristocratic classical revival style -> compare )

After World War I , Mies began, while still designing traditional neoclassical homes, a parallel experimental effort. He joined his avant-garde peers in the long-running search for a new style that would be suitable for the modern industrial age.

The aristocratic classical revival styles were particularly reviled by many as the architectural symbol of a now-discredited and outmoded social system. Progressive thinkers called for a completely new architectural design process guided by rational problem-solving and an exterior expression of modern materials and structure rather than, what they considered, the superficial application of classical facades.

To be famous
Boldly abandoning ornament altogether, Mies made a dramatic modernist debut with his stunning competition proposal for the faceted all-glass Friedrichstraße skyscraper in 1921, followed by a taller curved version in 1922 named the Glass Skyscraper

He continued with a series of pioneering projects, culminating in his two European masterworks: the temporary German Pavilion for the Barcelona exposition (often called the Barcelona Pavilion) in 1929

He joined the avant-garde Bauhaus design school as their director of architecture, adopting and developing their functionalist application of simple geometric forms in the design of useful objects.

Significance and meaning
Mies pursued an ambitious lifelong mission to create a new architectural language that could be used to represent the new era of technology and production.
He believed that the configuration and arrangement of every architectural element, particularly including the character of enclosed space, must contribute to a unified expression.
Yet his buildings are executed as objects of beauty and craftsmanship, and seem very direct and simple when viewed in person.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Mies_van_der_Rohe

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