On August 26, 2025, Leen Katrib, an assistant professor of architecture at the University of Kentucky, published “I’m teaching students not to follow Mies van der Rohe’s example,” an opinion piece on Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s reputation in architecture versus his actions.
Katrib starts off describing how Mies van der Rohe has been one of the most influential modern architects in history. However, during the time she was designing a university building, she discovered that Crown Hall was built on the site of the former Mecca Flats. Katrib goes on to explain her experience learning about the destruction of the Bronzeville neighborhood as part of the urban renewal project for the Illinois Institute of Technology campus. I encourage you all to read the article yourself (it is a short but informative read), as I don’t want to detract from Katrib’s own words and feelings. You can read the full article here: https://www.dezeen.com/2025/08/26/mies-van-der-rohes-leen-katrib-opinion/#:~:text=By%20framing%20the%20campus%20solely,not%20to%20follow%20his%20example.
The amount of criticism I saw within the comments of the article baffled me. Some criticized Katrib’s opinions, defending Mies van der Rohe’s actions. Others discredited her completely simply because she “ain’t even an architect yet.” My least favorite argument I read was “Why single him out, why not anyone else who has done worse?”
As an architecture student who has worked multiple years within Crown Hall, I can admit that the building is a physicist’s dream, but I can also acknowledge the personal nightmares we have faced within the building. Walking into the space on your first visit to the Illinois Tech campus, you learn about the marvel that is Crown Hall and how the lack of interior supports within the building is due to Mies van der Rohe’s incredible designs. It is, in fact, super impressive. We architecture students at Illinois Tech hear about Crown Hall’s design at least once every semester (many professors here express their adoration for Mies van der Rohe as well).
On the other hand, the longer you spend time in Crown Hall, especially during the winter months, the more you grow tired of the all-glass box design. As the sun sets, the west side of the upper studio turns into a bonfire (not literally), cooking the students and creating the most annoying glare that many of us cower behind any shade we can find. I personally have had my laptop overheat from the sun.
It is difficult to attend college on a campus named Mies Campus without hearing both the positives and negatives about Mies van der Rohe. I believe that the more distanced you are from the real thing, the fewer opinions you can really make about it.
While it may appear that our school “glazes” Mies van der Rohe too much, it’s important to emphasize that many professors also let students form their own opinions about him by giving them all the information. In the course that I am a teaching assistant for, we had a speaker come in and bring up the history of Mecca Flats and Crown Hall. Since about my second year at Illinois Tech (in about 2021), I have also been aware of Mecca Flats and the destruction of Bronzeville’s beloved affordable housing building. There is a big emphasis within the architecture school that we need to study the site and the neighborhoods we are working in. Our actions have consequences, and we should be aware of how we are affecting the community around our project.
I believe that many of the commenters on Katrib’s article did not fully read her conclusion: she plans to teach students, not just about Mies van der Rohe’s mistakes, but about the long-term impacts that can occur when one doesn’t fully understand the community they are designing in.