Lemke House, Berlin

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 1933

The L-shaped house has a special position in Mies van der Rohe’s oeuvre. This is the only courthouse-style building that Mies was able to realise in the 1930s.

Tillmann Franzen, tillmannfranzen.com / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
Haus / House Lemke (1932), Architekt / architect: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

[Translate to English:] Text

The design was greatly influenced by the financial and formal specifications of the client, Karl Lemke, who wished to use the house both as a private retreat and for representational purposes. Although the building was built as a solid construction, contrary to the open-plan structure that was otherwise typical of Mies, the architect was nevertheless able to implement his concept of “flowing space”. In Lemke House, he applied this to the relationship between the internal and external space: The terrace, which is located on the garden side and enclosed by the house, can be accessed from both wings through the opened windows of the study (which simultaneously serves as a hall) or the living room or dining room. The ground-level access allows the rooms to extend into the landscape.

[AG 2015]

  1. Literature:
  2. Noack, Wita (2008): Konzentrat der Moderne. Das Landhaus Lemke von Mies van der Rohe. Wohnhaus, Baudenkmal und Kunsthaus, München/Berlin.
To the top