[a letter from Miës van der Rohe to Le Corbusier]

Buckle up, because here’s a letter dated June 6, 1931, typed out by Ludwig Miës van der Rohe to Le Corbusier during the Deutsche Bauausstellung (German Building Exhibition) in Berlin. Miës was director of the Bauhaus at the time, still using the umlaut in his name, and keeping an office in Berlin. He was writing to inform Le Corbusier that his “Pläne” (plans/drawings) had arrived only on Tuesday, June 2, and that Mies had hung them the following day. He assures Le Corbusier that he has given them a “good and very conspicuous place” in his hall, where visitors would encounter them immediately upon entering. Mies also wonders whether Le Corbusier would have been satisfied with their placement had he been able to attend the exhibition and related congress. Finally, he discusses the uncertain date of the official opening of the French section of the exhibition, which he understood might be June 15, noting that it was already complete and accessible to the public.

Now, the exhibition opened on May 9, 1931, and Mies’s Hall II housed Die Wohnung unserer Zeit (The Dwelling of Our Time). Contemporary accounts describe Hall II primarily as an exhibition of full-scale dwelling prototypes rather than drawings. The letter therefore appears to document a later addition to Mies’s installation. The timing is particularly significant: Le Corbusier’s material arrived immediately before the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM) meeting of big wigs held in Berlin on June 4–6. It is likely that the letter concerns Le Corbusier’s architectural or urban-planning exhibition material, possibly related to Ville Radieuse or his contemporary CIAM work, but the precise nature of the “Pläne” has not yet been established. We’re working in it. But if you get this before we do, we’ll look forward to learning what you learn about. No matter. It’s a rare example of a Mies letterhead.