Constructing A Building From Found Blueprints

In 2021, Indiana University opened a new building for the Eskenazi School of Architecture, a 10,000 sf administrative space with offices and conference rooms. The floating white steel structure bears all the hallmarks of a building designed by Mies van der Rohe. That is because it was designed by Mies, sixty-five years earlier as a Pi Lamda Phi fraternity house. The largely forgotten design was rediscovered, redrawn by the firm Thomas Phiffer and Partners, and constructed with some modern updates, but mostly just as Mies would have wanted it. This video traces the evolution of this building's design and construction all the while questioning the role of authorship and originality in Architecture.

Corrections:
01:09 Indiana University, not University of Indiana. I will make this mistake throughout.

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Architecture with Stewart is a YouTube journey exploring architecture’s deep and enduring stories in all their bewildering glory. Weekly videos and occasional live events breakdown a wide range of topics related to the built environment in order to increase their general understanding and advocate their importance in shaping the world we inhabit.

__About Me__
Stewart Hicks is an architectural design educator that leads studios and lecture courses as an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also serves as an Associate Dean in the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts and is the co-founder of the practice Design With Company. His work has earned awards such as the Architecture Record Design Vanguard Award or the Young Architect’s Forum Award and has been featured in exhibitions such as the Chicago Architecture Biennial and Design Miami, as well as at the V&A Museum and Tate Modern in London. His writings can be found in the co-authored book Misguided Tactics for Propriety Calibration, published with the Graham Foundation, as well as essays in MONU magazine, the AIA Journal Manifest, Log, bracket, and the guest-edited issue of MAS Context on the topic of character architecture.

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[garrickballard]

As part of the team that built this project it turned out to be one of my finest. The structural Steel as shown in the video was started in our shop and completed in the field on site to make it look the way it does. As with most all of Shelby Coatings, Inc. projects this is my "last" new construction project because after 48 years of doing special coatings I'm retiring. So it is fitting to see this project done and love the video, great job.
Garrick B

[adsilcott]

One thing I kept thinking of as I watched this: if Mies had still been around to oversee the construction of this building, he would have had to make many of the same concessions to his original plans that were made here. I wonder if he would have been as thoughtful about adapting it to his original vision, or, since he would have more of a sense of ownership over the design, if he would have made more drastic changes to accommodate modern standards and regulations.

[larrybird]

I lived a stones throw away from this building last year and got to see most of the process of it being built and it was super cool

[amybushman]

I go to Indiana and this explains a lot about this new building on campus! Everyone thought it was a very odd design for a new building and a strange use of space when expansion always seams to be the case at IU. Very cool to learn more about the history!

[jatdesign]

Kind of like the Taliesin Associated Architects who would build some Wright’s unbuilt works but modify them to the client needs, site, and codes.

[BBWide]

I don't know how many of us observed that he speaks about Mies van der Rohe while sitting on a Barcelona chair—and also the look of the patio chairs echoing the Barcelona chair structure.
Stewart Hicks is my favourite in architecture videos! Thank you Sir!

[capability-snob]

I love how you've asked questions about provenance and yet it still reads like a love letter to van der Rowe. Great take.

[IOUaUsername]

Show me an architect who successfully designed an entire building in all its detail such that no engineer, builder, plumber etc had to make changes or design parts of it themselves. That's all they did here, change what needed to be changed to make the building work. The only difference is they didn't have to waste months sending emails back and forth to the architect because he wasn't still around.

[b.walker]

While I thoroughly enjoyed the Mies van der Rohe experience, what will stay with me longer is your brilliant delivery and skill of objectivity. Thank you for the lesson, lifelong will it last.

[Brian-osqj]

Fascinated to discover how exciting architecture has captured my imagination late in life. There is time to appreciate it, and I am. Thank you for this and it’s wonderful presentation.

[roundedosu]

i am absolutely stunned by Mies' work. i don't know how he makes these rectangular boxes interesting and makes them stand out. this seems like an amazing space to be in and i think this old project got taken care of really well

[MiamiMarkYT]

To most (myself included): it’s clearly a Mies Van Der Rohe. And to the those few that it’s not; I think it’s impossible to see it as anything less than a passionate and faithful love letter to one of the most important architects of a generation.

[ellipsis...]

Thank you for all your uploads Stewart. It's a fascinating insight into the architecture world.

[julianlineham]

Fantastic video. As a structural engineer I love the floor hanger system. Thomas’ team did an exquisite job with the original design.

[jked]

It is a team effort but without that architect's vision and drive, the building will never be more than the sum of it's parts. In your analogy, the architect is both the composer and the conductor using many people to create his vision. All great art, even if many hands touch it, is the product of that one visionary. All art is that way, whether paintings, sculptures, automobiles or architecture, the truly great examples have a single mind guiding everyone else along to create the masterpiece.

[eugenetrollip]

You always let me think critically about buildings. There is no doubt that this is a Mies van der Rohe building even if it has been modernized to comply with present day regulations. Although architecture is an art form, it is the only art form that is subjected to change over time, depending on the initial value of the design. This is a prime example. It still has the character initially intended by Mies, but adapted to modern day use. Being an art form, I think it is important to credit the designer even if an entire team worked to realize the vision. Construction drawings are instructions to the builder and there should be little room for 'interpretation' by the contractor.

[anothersettlementneedsyour]

I’m not an architect, but this is one of my favorite channels to currently watch on youtube, because of the quality and how it’s just so well presented that it’s almost just as calming as it’s informational. It makes me appreciate my surroundings more than ever.

If you ever ran out of ideas, I think a video about the urban planning in communist countries would be interesting for many who still live in those (me included). Or a video about Buckminster Fuller would be cool. I know there are some already, but none I’ve seen were as good as yours would be.

[michaelgreenslade]

I would definitely say that would be an authentic Mies van der Rohe design. Considering the provenance so design and the blessing by the family and the attention to detail! Hooray for the Indiana university Bloomington

[charpnatl]

This video brought me so much joy today! Thank You! It’s fascinating how this building came to be born so long after it was planned. Honestly i can’t image it as a Frat House.

[Ocarafeio]

Im a architect from Brazil and im binge watching all your vídeos. Great Work man !