With the sleek, soaring Seagram Building, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe showed America that “less is more” could make a big impact. Click on the icons to learn more.
The bronze I-beams on the Seagram Building exterior highlight the concept of functionality, but are actually merely decorative; the building’s actual supporting structure lies behind the facade.
The Seagram Building’s sleek glass façade, tinted to match the building’s bronze exterior elements, was a bold statement in 1958.
As striking as the building was, its wide-open plaza was equally unexpected (and later, widely copied with less success).