The Origin and Aftermath of 'Less is More'

[@MrRadar]

To steal a quote from a Tweet I saw recently: "minimalism is a scam invented by big small to sell more less"

[@kurtdowney1489]

I love that

[@Bunni504]

Why be against that? Not everyone wants to be overwhelmed with a bunch of stuff.

[@wtfll]

@@Bunni504because it’s depressing.

[@TreeGod.]

@@Bunni504there’s a difference between being minimalistic, an big companies trying to sell people small cramped homes for basically the same price as bigger places used to be

[@rudolphantler6309]

Damnit I was wondering if anyone said that quote before and it is the very first comment.

[@barryrobbins7694]

The flaws of iconic architecture are often overlooked because we appreciate many other innovative aspects. The irony is that Mies architecture is so pared down that it makes the flaws much more apparent. While many individuals may enjoy the minimalism of Mies, in the case of public housing its simplicity more closely resembled prison architecture. While even modern prison architecture attempts to become more humane.

[@rosezingleman5007]

I very much appreciated the way our host gently pointed out the eventual problems with Mies’ iconic design features. I always blamed myself for shivering in these places (the ones at IIT, I’ve never been to a prison).

[@rkalle66]

I highly doubt that Mies himself would have built mass apparment housing in such a way. It's more that other architects were trying to copy his style without knowing the why/how.

[@simonwinn8757]

Would you believe me if I told you it isn't a flaw but a intended feature. By striping norms, traditions and culture, we would remove social barriers like class and race, to give everybody a more equal footing.The failure of it, it also removed peoples sense of community and individual identity.

[@barryrobbins7694]

@@simonwinn8757 Are you talking about prisons?

[@simonwinn8757]

@@barryrobbins7694 the apartment towers

[@calebheidel2292]

Love this. I'm often frustrated how architecture channels don't admit the lack of humanity and beauty in modern construction styles - so, this video was cathartic to me haha

[@k8g8s8]

I think the problem is to think that all modern construction is lacking in humanity and beauty. There are more styles within that time than most people know and you'll see that on this channel.

[@calebheidel2292]

Ya sure! I certainly don't think all modern styles suffer in that way. But i see that problem tons driving around where i live. @@k8g8s8

[@annasolovyeva1013]

​@@k8g8s8 English just lacks words to distinguish modern styles. Russian, on the other hand, does. So... Art-Nuveau, Art-Deco, Stalinist Empire/Socrealism, etc are Modarn (stress on the 2nd syllable, use æ). Cubism, Suprematism, Futurism, Avant-garde, Industrialism, anything to do with geometric abstraction, art without beauty and "housing as a machine" is modernizm. Modernist architecture lacks beauty - on purpose.

[@diemes5463]

There's plenty of "humanity" in modern architecture, it's built and inhabited by people

[@davidsimonyan5794]

​@@diemes5463any proves?

[@ryguygaming06]

3:35 As it turns out, lesson comes from the French « leçon » (same meaning) and that is ultimately derived from Latin « lectio » which means « a reading ». The word less comes from the Anglo-saxon part of English, which is mostly Germanic. Fun to learn the etymology of similar sounding words.

[@Nynke_K]

Yep, and for clarification: less is unrelated to lesson/lectio.

[@greywitchleila]

@@Nynke_K was coming here to correct this, so good to see others already on it. As a linguist these kinds of easy pop-linguistic shots are annoying because now we're gonna have at least 10% of the audience here repeating this as fact uncritically.

[@ZopcsakFeri]

@@greywitchleila Did your eyes also hurt as much as mine when seeing the non-IPA transcript for pronunciation? XD I could not resist leaving a note on that, although I LOVE Stew's work!

[@jeff__w]

@@greywitchleila “…now we're gonna have at least 10% of the audience here repeating this as fact uncritically.” I absolutely agree. It’s just an unnecessary statement that could have been left out-there’s really no excuse for spreading misinformation that could be checked in, like, 30 seconds and discarded.

[@Gabrielacreates]

I think it may have been meant as just a sarcastic play on words

[@IOSam]

The fact that it takes quite some time into the video for a "normie viewer" (not an architect or designer) like me to tell if Stewart is trying to be objective or facetious about this strand of minimalism is what makes this video so intriguing. In the end, I'm pretty sure I understood his humorous critique of the "less is more" philosophy, but I can totally see people reaching a completely different conclusion than me, based on their own preconceptions of the topic. And the fact he left enough space in there for this duality is the real genius behind this piece of content. Bravo!

[@bcbock]

Didn’t seem real subtle to me. Those buildings are terrible for humans.

[@VidaBlue317]

​@@bcbockYeah those buildings look like shit. When I had classes in the tech buildings at my college, I felt like a rhesus monkey in Harlow's "wire mother" experiment. On the flipside, our philosophy department had a beautiful building where I felt like the rhesus monkey with the "warm, cloth mother." PS__ I actuallly love Manhattan's uber-brutalist Darth Vader building because it's just so strange - but two of those buildings would be one too many.

[@TheSwissChalet]

@@bcbock Absolutely it is. Incidentally there is just as much effort put in these architecture styles (brutalist and modern) that goes toward brainwashing the normies that they are “wonderful and progressive” as there is in the actual design. Convincing the public through press releases, celebrity endorsements, old-fashioned propaganda, government incentives, etc. is still not enough to convince anyone with an ounce of common sense that “prison-design” is awesome. Yet some people willingly jump on that propaganda bandwagon and ride it all the way to the concrete factory.

[@andyiswonderful]

Agreed, at first I thought he was being serious, but then the satire became apparent. He's an extremely thought-provoking commentator.

[@IOSam]

@@bcbock I agree that it is not too hard to see the flaws on buildings based on this philosophy (especially for those who have lived in them). But I feel like the "less is more" mantra in all other disciplines, alongside the "armchair minimalism" that usually accompanies it, has been repeated so many times (especially in the last couple of decades), that I can see a lot of younger folks, who only know the "glamorous" side on this idea, actually failing to see the flaws in it. The single fact that "less is more" is still endlessly parroted today, as some sort of design gospel that can never be challenged, is enough proof of that (at least in my humble opinion).

[@mrLuke74896]

As an alumni of IIT and an architectural engineer, it is great to see you bringing eyes to the campus! Had many sleepless nights in the Galvin library. Also know many people who would sleep under the tables in Crown while in the architecture program. Something interesting to note, is the fact that most of the buildings are protected by the Mies society, which leads to a difficult time upgrading the internal building systems due to the architectural requirements. If any windows break, they need to custom make single pane windows that fit exactly in the place of the old ones. This leads to awful efficiency in terms of heating and cooling the buildings. Also extra costs incurred by IIT due to this. One more fun fact, those I-beam corners are referred to as Mies corners! Keep it up!

[@Feynman981]

From an engineers perspective, you could install some solar panels on some of the roofs, link these with a larger heat pump in the basement who then fills a larger water heat storage (imagine an oversized thermo-can). So, you can heat up a large body of water using only the energy from the sun. It does not produce any CO2 once installed. You then link your heating- and hot water systems to this heat storage. These pumps do not need much energy, and most of it can be taken from a battery. For larger buildings, you can install a secondary storage with a cooling cycle to get rid of inefficient ACs. Because heat pumps can do both: heat and cool. So, during daytime (doesn't matter if sunny or cloudy since solar works with still with 80% efficiency on cloudy days), your system is getting charged with energy. And it releases this energy then from storage over time. Even if you build the most inefficient structure, you will still end up with a carbon-neutral building. This means you can build whatever you like. With no constrains to isolation or consumption. Which means this is also an argument to build more beautiful buildings or keep renovating the nice heritage structures. You can go to zero-carbon, autark energy with the right systems.

[@poofygoof]

@@Feynman981 sure, but these are just workarounds for inefficient structures. surely simliar designs with more modern construction materials like multi-paned glass and insulated walls could be created? Looking at the interior shots with quad radiators is painful. I understand wanting to preserve historic structures (where the workarounds may have their place) but at some point energy waste has to be formally recognized as an anachronism.

[@BostonMark]

was curious why did the students sleep under the tables? was the library open 24-7?

[@leechjim8023]

Stay cool! Or warm! As needed!!!😮😮😮

[@mistert7958]

I hope you plan to post this every April 1st. ( Tongue planted firmly in cheek! )

[@winthropthurlow3020]

It seems to me that the sins of large scale housing projects and the like (e.g., interstate highways through city centers) are not so much related to the "flaws" in architectural styles like Modernism and Brutalism as they are to a fundamental misapplication of the principles of thinkers like Mies and a misunderstanding of how humans interact with the built environment. In my hometown of Syracuse, NY we are fortunate to have the Everson Museum of Art, designed by I. M. Pei (in fact, his first museum). It works precisely because of the contrast it provides to the surrounding environment. It is a space to contemplate, to remove and to breathe. Alas, we too have our share of cheaply built concrete public housing towers. They are oppressive, rigid and devoid of the experiences of living. The two share many of the same building materials, but that's about it.

[@stewarthicks]

Agreed.

[@hanng1242]

I don't think that the hell of banality that is modern architecture is a result of misapplication; it is deliberate. The point was to reflect the "ideal" of the New Socialist Man - a cog in the machine of the collective lacking individuality, privacy or anything human like beauty. People instinctively rebel against this totalitarian style to reduce human beings down to robots utterly obedient to the state and unconcerned with anything that might impede the efficiency of economic output. The old skyscrapers of New York and Chicago, the great gothic cathedrals of Europe, the neo-classical buildings of Washington, DC and St. Petersburg (Russia, not Florida) - these buildings are of their time, yet timeless; they speak to man through the ages. Crap like the International Style was interesting for about a decade due to sheer novelty but will be unremembered because there is nothing worthy of remembrance. In New York, the only buildings in the International Style that anyone but a landlord will care about was not a result of the architecture, but rather because terrorists flew a plane into one of them in 2001. In Chicago, the only building in the International Style that is of any interest is the one on South Wabash Avenue only because it is a garish bright red. In the DC area, people are inspired by the neo-classicism of the city, not by the modernist office space across the Potomac in Roslyn; ironically the neo-brutalist design of the J. Edgar Hoover building makes sense because it houses the FBI and named after a guy who probably envied his counterpart in the USSR, Lavrentiy Beria of "show me the man and I will show you the crime" fame. As for the concrete block that is the Everson Museum of Art, I suspect that its hideous exterior was a deliberate choice intended to make an otherwise pedestrian spiral staircase in the interior feel whimsical and inspired. The only modern style with any style whatsoever is Art Deco because, while it uses modernist lines, it is designed with a classical mindset. It still feels human because it is a design intended to be beheld, not simply a utilitarian structure erected to facilitate labor.

[@winthropthurlow3020]

@@hanng1242 Wow, you certainly have a visceral dislike for change. Taste is individual and I respect that, but I'd suggest that you're missing out by lumping together such disparate styles as Brutalism and Internationalism and seeing them solely through the lens of "New Socialist Man" and "totalitarian" (clearly not the same thing). The Gothic cathedrals you applaud were the result of advanced engineering and represented a radical departure from the Romanesque style that preceded them. Some observers no doubt found them offensive and sacreligious. Similarly, buildings like Lever House and the Seagram Building came about because of advancements in materials that was no less dramatic and groundbreaking. Is there a lot of bad modern architecture? Sure, just like there was a lot of bad non-modern architecture. However, the Everson Museum is no more like the FBI Headquarters or the World Trade Center than St. Peter's is like the Chrysler Building or the Sagrada Familia.

[@toomanymarys7355]

Brutalist public buildings are still largely hideous. Minimalism works ok for some public structures, but others are always eyesores.

[@toomanymarys7355]

​@@winthropthurlow3020Socialism is always totalitarian. It happens to be one flavor of totalitarianism. And your TEMERITY to tell people whose families have lived in communist regimes that they're ignorant about communism is astonishing.

[@rosezingleman5007]

Oh Mies, Mies. In grad school I struggled along with this and finally said, “Less is More, more or less….” But did any of us ever say “van der Ro-ha”? All my professors pronounced it like Rowe. Maybe they were stripping him down to essentials.

[@calmeilles]

The German pronunciation: [ˈluːtvɪç ˈmiːs fan deːɐ̯ ˈʁoːə]; The last syllable is a schwa, taking much less emphasis than Stewart is giving it. When he emigrated he actively fell in with the Americans saying it as they saw it written, so -ROH; [roʊ] became normalised. So you can't say that either is incorrect but certainly reverting to the German is unusual.

[@NikaBoyce]

Yeah I learned it as "Row" in architecture school (Here in the US)

[@trainluvr]

@@NikaBoyce One less syllable and Rohe was down with that. I shortened my name Jonathan to Jon the first chance I got in 6th grade.

[@Extinguishtpf]

Toured his architecture in Stuttgart and everyone pronounced it like rowe.

[@JanFWeh]

Ro · He Ro without the 'u' sound that accompanies the English 'o' And He like hey without 'y' sound. ;^)

[@keithingersoll3003]

Personally not a fan of Mies Van Der Rohe either. Reminds me of Apple who get design awards for weirdly boring and uncreative products that have obvious flaws like irreplaceable batteries and internal glue instead of screws.

[@ChrisKanich]

Love the use of a modernist dialectic to critique and explain modernist architecture! 🤓

[@selectivires]

What I have taken away from Mies' glorified "less is more" in my architecture studies, and reading more into his behaviour surrounding the seagram building, is that he cherrypicked what he wanted to focus on in a design. Really pushed for whatever vision he had for it, and left to rest to rot (or rust as was the case here) and be solved by other people. Great video! It is nice to see the current state of the campus in comparison to all the old school pictures.

[@catsupchutney]

That sounds so typical of ivory tower architects. Just like Frank Lloyd Wright refusing to include closets.

[@rosezingleman5007]

I recall very clearly, after nearly fifty years, the answer I got when I mumbled something about how uncomfortable Wright’s early furniture was. I thought I might leave the room without my head.

[@bcbock]

@@rosezingleman5007 His homes are gorgeous, but I sure as hell would never want to live in one.

[@Dwafiz]

I love the structure, nuance, and satire of this video. All a very fresh juxtaposition. Excellent work Stewart!!

[@linedegl4966]

this format was so fun and engaging! Loved the sarcastic flair spinkled throughout.The dual narration, it really brought a new layer of depth and personality to the video, and laid the foundation to joke and add information so organically. So whether it really was mistake fixing, or just aesthetic choice, it really worked out well! :)

[@stewarthicks]

I'm so glad you like it!

[@taranjk1]

@@stewarthicks Your execution of irony is perfect. for a youtuber I never expected sas from, it was amazing.

[@mikeciul8599]

I enjoyed the bit, and found it pretty amusing at times. But I also found it disturbing. There are good reasons to undermine trust in the narrator, but there are also consequences. In the winter 1998 issue of the magazine "Adbusters," Bruce Grierson wrote an article called "Soul Shock." Grierson explains how shock value can capture the attention of viewers, and it is often used in advertising. He describes different sorts of shock - violence and sexuality can be used for a superficial shock, but he argued that the most powerful shocks come from things that feel "wrong" on a spiritual level - soul shocks. He used the surrealist irony of contemporary Diesel jeans ads as an example. A personal example of "soul shock" for me is the famous photograph, "Vietcong prisoner, Nguyễn Văn Lém, being executed by police chief General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan in Saigon." But as another example, Grierson described a brainwashing technique where a subject is held in confinement and forced to listen to demoralizing messages on repeat. Subjects reported that they couldn't recall the messages themselves afterwards, but they were deeply scarred by the experience, on a level that went beyond words. Grierson compared this obviously damaging experience with our widespread exposure to advertising, which uses shock and demoraliizing messages to create a need for material comfort. I really resonated with Grierson's message, but concluded that Adbusters itself, with its slick propagandized attack on advertising, was contributing the the very harm it opposed. My takeaway was that abuse can't defeat abuse. In my life, I've found that the best way to protect myself from abuse and manipulation is to focus on people who are trustworthy and messages that affirm the value of all people. There is certainly a place for satire, but I am wary of overusing it.

[@2MinuteHockey]

lovely channel, would also love for you to cover some of Chicago's Polish roots if you could @@stewarthicks

[@kigas24]

As a current IIT student thank you for making this video on campus!

[@pietervoogt]

The irony in this video is quite good, but the more wholesome part was seeing the Dearborn Homes actually effectively improved with some simple ornaments. The new french balconies add some variation too. Humans are in many aspects predictable creatures, rather than looking down on that it can be seen as an opportunity. We know what people like and we can just give it to them. Without irony (the irony of 90s postmodernism was its downfall) and with respect. A surprise to me is that the only thing that had some quality in the original design of the Dearborn Homes, the windows, also look better now.

[@KarlSnarks]

I actually really like some of the 90's postmodernist architecture, a local downtown mall was build in that style and was very lively and playful. Good memories going there with my parents. somewhere in the 2010's the mall changed owners and they striped it down towards a very tasteless form of minimalism and after the renovations were done, many shops didn't return (nor was there a central food court that brought a lot of liveliness). As for 20th century public housing architecture done well regarding ornamentation, I'd pick the Amsterdam School projects, which specifically developed from the intention of providing joyful, comfortable and affordable housing for poor workers.

[@Suho1004]

I loved the interplay between "fanboy you" and "skeptic you." It's a clever conceit that makes for an engaging and interesting video, I think. One minor note: The similarities between "less" and "lesson" in English are in fact accidental; their etymologies trace back to completely different roots along completely different linguistic lines. "Less" comes via Old English and Germanic roots, while "lesson" takes the Romance path of Old French and Latin.

[@JosephHuether]

IMO you cannot discuss the power of Mies’s work at IIT (and elsewhere) and elsewhere without also crediting landscape architect Alfred Caldwell with whom he collaborated on virtually all his American projects. Caldwell was an American treasure. BTW…in the 1950’s there was a “curtain wall war” between steel, bronze and aluminum. In the USA, aluminum won. Steel is still commonly used in Germany.

[@choui4]

Same with Lilly Reicht, she was a huge collaborator for interiors during his time in Germany. She "helped" with the Barcelona Pavilion

[@WhatAboutZoidberg]

I didn't know I needed such thick, substantial architectural sass today, but I REALLY did.

[@imsosmart942]

I just found your channel and I love it! I was a fine arts and art history teacher for 30 years and I did every kind of art that was possible, finally settling on stained glass and going back to watercolors now. But my true love is architecture! You can see so many wheels turning in an architect's brain as you stare at a building. The tours of the architectural society are terrific! I live about 30 minutes from Chicago, in Northwest Indiana. I'm subscribing!!

[@JustLikeHumansMusic]

Loved this one, the fun format; a fave! Really liked the bonus fun fact of the found old hotel as I’m currently reading a book that is centered around the fair, The Devil in the White City. Thanks, Stewart!

[@jayc222]

“The steel wants to share its joy with other materials, like the bricks, by rusting all over them.” This was the point of the video when I realized dude intentionally set out from the beginning to make the contrasting “indoctrinated” vs “skeptical” narrator avatars. Great touch! Whether it was planned from the beginning or not. Love this.

[@MrCharwillbro]

This video has a different energy to it and I am here for it. Thanks for experimenting a bit and trying new things! Ill keep an eye out for you and the great architecture of this city!

[@mandyb5295]

Love the layered style of this video and I'm here for the sarcasm :) My grandfather was a Mechanical Engineer from IIT's predecessor, Armour Institute in the late 1930s. When I went to Architecture school in the 1990s and learned about Mies, it was fun to know that my Grandpa would have still been in Chicago when Mies was settling into IIT. Thank you for this great video!

[@ninjanerdstudent6937]

The phrase "less is more" is often interpreted as a minimalist ideal, but it is sometimes compared to the concept of "you will own nothing and be happy," which suggests a broader societal shift toward collective or limited ownership.

[@emmathearcticurbanist]

This was definitely a more challenging watch, but I loved it! As an older viewer I had faith that you'd make sure that the "pain" at the beginning at the video (from the multiple perspectives rather than the single perspective) was gonna pay off. And it did! This video might not be for your first time viewers, but as an older viewer I thank you for bringing us some slightly more challenging material where we get to engage critically, instead of being spoon fed opinions. Cheers!

[@stewarthicks]

Glad you enjoyed it! I was very nervous about it prior to release and very happy it's being well-received. Thanks for your support!

[@samhklm]

The classic explanation is : "Less is More" is a famous design principle associated with the renowned architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The concept emphasizes simplicity and minimalism in design and architecture. Mies believed that by stripping away unnecessary elements and embellishments, one could achieve elegance and sophistication in design. While the above is true Mies' approach is much more than just "stripping away unnecessary elements". His buildings exhibit exacting proportion and attention to detail (especially corners and fenestration). The concept contributes to a feeling of openness and organization which was a revolution in the 1950s (and still is today). I see "box" type homes today that claim to be "Modern" with simple lines, but they are boring due the lack portion and overall coherence to a design philosophy.

[@spaguettoltd.7933]

I’m so glad to hear someone distinguish between minimalism and brutalism. As a brutalism fan who strongly dislikes minimalism, I’m excited to see what comes next!

[@poofygoof]

was searching through the comments to see if anybody else caught this as well...

[@morgantrias3103]

Yes! I love brutalism and hate minimalism.

[@echelonrank3927]

ikea entrapment style floor plans cast in concrete are next

[@Alex-cw3rz]

On the topic of concrete you got to at the end, there is a village in the UK that was built quickly as a holiday destination called Thorpness and believe it or not the buildings are all concrete, yet looks like a chocolate box village and even the water towers are made into a "house in the sky" and a castle like structure

[@longiusaescius2537]

@Alex-cw3rz interesting

[@fredericapanon207]

I had to go to GMaps to check out Thorpeness, Leiston, UK. They do have a water tower that looks like a manor house in the sky! Thank you. Edit: and a windmill and swans.

[@The_Smith]

Nice touch of humour to a delicate subject Stewart. Well done.

[@stewarthicks]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed.

[@Castaway67]

I really appreciate your reflection on the on-site filming and the counterpoints you offered showing a bit of the reality behind the "beautified wording" firms are able to use to describe development. Well done mate.

[@BS-vx8dg]

You may have stumbled into a genius video format here, Stewart.

[@stewarthicks]

I'm glad you liked it!

[@GogaBolz]

less will always be less

[@korpen2858]

Which is why i am part of the enlightened hoarder community

[@jamez6398]

Agreed. I like maximalist exteriors with minimalist interiors but maybe I'm just weird, I just think old buildings like the 1920's-1950's high rises in places like Chicago and New York City, or the beautiful old apartment buildings in Paris are beautiful, whereas the flats built in working class London neighbourhoods in the 1960's were very deliberately minimal in their aesthetic considerations and extremely ugly, even a lot of more recent high rises clearly have a design in mind and look pleasing to the eye but not as pretty, nor as notable, as those aforementioned older buildings...

[@seeranos]

This video is a very funny and relatable meta experience. Also, i think “Colonizing Grid” was the perfect phrase to describe it.

[@choui4]

Especially when you consider the "law of the indies"

[@harenterberge2632]

Humans did not evolve in a minimalistic environment, but in an environment rich in colour, texture, structure and variation.

[@Millennia0007]

I've got an apparently hot take here: I don't think Modernism is inherently bad. I just think its terrible to live in when it follows the "international style," glass/steel framework. It's cold and impersonal, and it ages like milk. When I studied architecture I put Mies on a pretty high pedestal. But there's a couple of his apartment buildings in Newark, NJ near where I live and they are decrepit and dystopian as all hell. The Barcelona Pavilion on the other hand, my favorite work of his, is genuinely beautiful. It makes you believe in the minimalist ideal. But it's open air, well kept, and, crucially, nobody has to live in it. Say what you want about Frank Lloyd Wright, but his Usonian homes are much closer to what "modernist" style homes should be. Easy to understand how they're made, sleek and geometrical, but still finding a place for warmth and human comfort. Those and the Californian "Case Study" homes should be more well known. Not all rectangular houses are made equal.

[@gotworc]

I agree with this. I feel sort of the same way about brutalism. I think the most common examples you see. Specifically the ones mass produced in the Soviet Union are extremely ugly and dystopian. But there are many individual buildings that are honestly really awesome looking.

[@peturmagnason]

The overall presentation and production of this video is one of your best work. Much appreciated

[@dogmaiamgod]

Stewart - Did you really say the the beautiful weather of Chicago in the winter? As a fellow Chicagoan, I admire your optimism. 😂 Great video. Keep it up!

[@stewarthicks]

I was being facetious, I couldn't feel my hands for the next full day.

[@jamez6398]

At least it looks picturesque with the white frost coating everything and the sun shining down, which you don't get when it's overcast, dull, and heavily raining, even though it's bitterly cold and the floor's slippery...

[@henryglennon3864]

He's alluding to the fact that while Modern architecture preaches the virtues of construction, it's almost always a performance nightmare on a practical level. Given new energy codes coming out, elements like exposed structure and even walls of mostly glass will probably be largely phased out in the coming years.

[@AHardy21]

Only halfway through and this is completely amazing. The editing and tone are just “chefs kiss” thank you for all your hard work.

[@the0new0revolution]

Loved the back and forth, and the discussion on how architecture and social/economic factors are so tightly intertwined. Do you often head out into the suburbs? I work in a south suburban library built in the 1800s and I’d love to learn more or see your takes on some of the area or the library itself.

[@JayYoung-ro3vu]

In my town, the city center block was 'redeveloped' from many thriving businesses to just an insurance company tower(long vacant) and a new city hall (long derided as "ugly" but having won awards for blending public and government space).

[@verycool1833]

thats interesting i never knew that outside facades and exterior details could reduce crime but i guess when it makes you feel good and rich you would want to perserve the area around it vs the negative connotations of a plain building. in egypt where im from even our cheapest housing projects have tons of exterior details but i never thought it had extra meaning.

[@snrkybrd]

Well also, floor to ceiling windows aren't great for securing your valuables

[@VirmanaMarketing]

I love your videos. This one was a bit all to over the place with analogies and jargons. Mies is a genius and his work should always be celebrated.

[@diametheuslambda]

This isn't my usual side of the argument, but there's something to be said about how dignified, pleasant and useful the places shown are, and how out of place the mockery is. The horrible way the land was taken and the performance shortcomings of the buildings are both true and important, but there's precious little spaces with this combination of civility, intent and unpretentiousness. Public spaces are usually either minimal effort trash or festooned with marble, and we should afford more grace to places that respect but don't impose on us

[@jamesslate6664]

The irony of Mies van der Rohe's mature style, with it's exposed I-beams, is that they are purely decorative. They were said to express the inherent structure of the building, yet they don't provide any structural support. I firmly believe that Mies was the greatest architect of the 20th-century, and his masterpiece has to be the Farnsworth House, located in Plano, IL. Built for the Chicago nephrologist Edith Farnsworth, it's the ultimate expression of his goal of designing a structure entirely supported by it's exterior. I would say that Minimalism is still a popular design style, evidenced by the scarcity of available units in his Lake Shore Drive condominiums, 860, 880, 900, and 910 LSD.

[@dracodragon105]

To be honest, I took the thermal bridging section as irony, not sugar coating.

[@stewarthicks]

This format was an experiment. Not sure I'll ever come back to it. But, you're right, the tone of some of the parts isn't 100% consistent.

[@dracodragon105]

@@stewarthicks Id say it would be good for topics in which both of these camps exist and are strong in their oppinions. compare and contrast is good to trigger a bit of cognitive dissonance to get people to try and think about their position and to show you don't lean too heavily one way or the other, or to give light to arguments that tend to get buried by the over saturation of the other take. I do still find it I important to see where each side is also coming from, as it could be informed by possibly damaging ideas.

[@jeff__w]

I thought the same thing. Unfortunately, these days it seems like very few people even recognize something as irony (and often mistake sarcasm, which is _not_ in evidence here, as irony).

[@evermar1]

Stewart, as an Architect, I love some of Mies' work, especially his Barcelona Pavilion. However I had a chance to visit the Campus with my fellow friends and Architects a few years ago and I was so disappointed in this place. It gave me the impression of a future of faceless building machines where its students were forced to study here as punishment for crimes against the state. If he just designed Crown Hall (which is magnificent) and let the other buildings have individual character I would have not had this reaction. The power plant looked just like the chapel, they had no identity to what was inside. I was there on a cloudy day and the campus was depressing. Your video is very entertaining.

[@warrenlemay8134]

As someone currently attending Illinois Tech's Graduate Architecture program, it is interesting to note that while many of the buildings were designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, there were other architects whom studied under him and designed several of the buildings. This includes Walter Netsch's Galvin Library and Hermann Hall, both of which are heavily influenced by Crown Hall, and Myron Goldsmith's Keating Hall, Rettaliata Engineering Center, Pritzker Science Center, and Stuart Building. The contemporary architecture by Rem Koolhaus, John Ronan, and Helmut Jahn shows the university's more recent break from the design philosophy of Mies. Furthermore, I do find it interesting how you chose the Galvin Library as a backdrop for your on-site filming, Netsch was an architect that really understood the architectural design philosophy of Mies, and Galvin Library is a very good derivative of Crown Hall, and is a convincing imitation of Mies's work. Not long after the Galvin Library, Netsch designed the University of Illinois at Chicago campus, employing a very different style, which more aligns with the philosophy of Le Corbusier instead. The last shot of this video showing you is taken in front of one of these later buildings. Oh, and to the point of the buildings having some flaws, I have witnessed a lot of water leaking into the Galvin Library through the exterior curtain wall before, which is a problem with many of the buildings at Illinois Tech. Crown Hall itself has had its curtain wall rebuilt twice. To this, I say "Modernism was never meant to get old."

[@stewarthicks]

Thanks for the added context. The choice of backdrop was mostly about lighting. I didn't talk about it specifically because it wasn't by Mies. But it would have been good for me to label which ones were and weren't designed by Mies. As you point out, they are all interesting interpretations of MIesian tropes.

[@RichardLightburn]

[1] I believe that Netsch did NOT think of himself as a follower of Mies', and certainly not a student of Mies. [2] Not sure about timing. The UIC campus was planned in the late '50s and opened in '64, the same year that Galvin and Hubbard opened. [3] Sure there are lots of similarities between Crown and Galvin/Hubbard, but there are many many differences: there is exposed concrete aggregate in Galvin that I interpret as hinting of the brutalism Netsch would more fully explore at Regenstein and SAIC. Crown's structure is fully expressed in its design, but the structure of Galvin and Hubbard is not expressed (they use unexpressed interior structural columns). I enjoy and admire both Mies and Netsch as artists.

[@mk1st]

Yeah, it’s wise when you are impressed with a building that was recently built to think “but what will it look like in 50 years?”

[@g.moeller308]

Your original video had me in stitches "The steel joyously shares its rust with the bricks below" Love it

[@curiousworld7912]

This is the best video I've seen on your channel, and I always enjoy what you bring. Well done. :)

[@chocolateer]

3:40 I'm not sure if this point was meant earnestly, but 'less' and 'lesson' do not share a 'root word'. Etymologically, they have no connection to one another - one is from Germanic, one is from Latin (lectionem) via French.

[@tvart1012]

"If less is more, then think of how much more, 'more' would be!" Dr. Frazier Crane

[@stewarthicks]

That's a good one!

[@sehismith]

As an IIT graduate (1980), I appreciate your critique of "Less is More" from a historical perspective. Thanks for creating your videos.

[@jpp7783]

You can dismiss minimalism or any architectural movement by pointing to really bad examples of it. But one cannot deny the beauty of minimalism done right (the Seagram Building, the Toronto-Dominion centre, etc). There are also hideous Geogian, Victorian and other styles. It doesn’t mean they are failed design schools.

[@WinstonSmithGPT]

Minimalism done right is a failure.

[@TheSwissChalet]

@@WinstonSmithGPT I mean, really, how innovative is a rectangular box?

[@scotvega18]

In grad school I had the pleasure of taking a theory class taught by Kenny Cupers. He was the first one in my education who encouraged the exploration of a building as more than just a sculptural object but a complex series of factors, economic trends, material culture, and, most importantly, the users of the building itself. This video is incredible. It really succeeds at exploring an extremely important set of design principles, discussing their merits without whitewashing the impacts, history, and context. Excellent job, Stewart!

[@michaeljtbusch4321]

Hey, I really like your videos. It might help to understand that the German phrase ‘weniger ist mehr’ translates to ‘less is more’. This can be seen as a modern approach where reducing details and condensing elements into straight lines - ‘weniger Firlefanz’, as one might say in German - leads to a greater overview or understanding of a structure. This is my interpretation. Another German phrase is ‘der Teufel steckt im Detail’, meaning ‘the devil is in the detail’. This suggests that the intricate parts are crucial and can cause an overall structure to fail. Conversely, putting ‘God in the details’ might imply that these intricate parts are what make it truly interesting. Referencing these German phrases might be insightful. Great video, by the way!

[@stewarthicks]

Thanks for the added info/context!

[@michaeljtbusch4321]

After giving it some thought (that's whether I should mention it or not.), I, as a Black person, really appreciate that you provided a perspective in the video highlighting the cultural aspects and certain elements of the systemic history of Chicago's South Side. Highly appreciated. @@stewarthicks

[@stewarthicks]

I appreciate your comment and insight @michaeljtbusch4321.

[@Spirale462]

Hi Stewart, architectural student from Australia here. Really enjoy your videos and non bias breakdowns. I learn a lot. Any chance you do a podcast or are thinking about doing one? Would be great to hear longer format conversations of all the topics you cover. Cheers

[@blubliblubl6213]

In the past days I discovered your channel why browsing for immages of images of the farnsworth house, for a 3d Model i was making. since then i watched many of your video. I find the view of an expert very interisting. thank you for your videos and i hope you keep making those impressive videos.

[@michaelagonzalez]

Thanks

[@stewarthicks]

Whoa! Thank you so much!!

[@musicdisc8021]

A microcosm of architecture and urban design again in the city of Chicago! Important lessons to think about and history we should not forget. Interested in learning more about Mecca Flats and proper building maintenance now too 😮

[@kodyjbosch1]

The Mecca Flats building looks like it was Beautiful. I'm very curious about the floor plans and other interior details.

[@yapdog]

I truly appreciated the context you interspersed in this video. So very well done

[@TheSimArchitect]

I don't believe the problem is minimalism. Sorry. The problem is poverty. The problem is lack of proper maintenance. There's many beautiful modern designs and brutalism can be quite good. There's also many trashed buildings from other eras. What defines what's good is the budget, the people using those estates (and how they use them) and how they maintain them. It's also important to note you can use different materials and many modern buildings didn't age well because they were built cheaply. Brasília has beautiful buildings. LA also. Those buildings with "decorative elements added" are just like pigs with very ugly lipstick put on them, which made them look worse, not better. The only thing that can save those buildings is gentrification. If you maintain any large building poorly and populate it with uneducated people, you will end up with the same issues once the paint starts to wear off and nobody that can afford living somewhere better will stay. You also mentioned they made the units larger. So, it's not about the architectural style, after all, but the quality of the units and the people living there. There's a reason why two very similar houses might have very different prices depending on their location. And it's not because of the distance or the schools, but the people living besides you and the environment you find. Segregation intensifies that. Here in The Netherlands there's some level of homogeneity but there's also bad neighborhoods that are even given racist names by the locals because of the characteristics of the majority of people living there. Other areas are safer because they're more expensive and have a different segment of people who don't need to mug you to buy drugs. We can't be oblivious to those things, in my opinion. Sorry. 😬

[@michaelagonzalez]

I love the critic sections, which makes this video more interesting as a counterpoint to an already interesting segment.

[@Bunny-ch2ul]

I feel like you can't really talk about "the honesty of the material" without being honest about how it's going to fare over time. And let's be real, is designing a building that's uncomfortable to be in or expensive to heat and cool any more "authentic" than just slapping a facade on a building? Simplicity shouldn't just be visual. It should be about ease of use. While I feel like these buildings are attractive (at least from a distance) they really ignore a lot of pretty obvious practical issues. There's a lot of artifice going on here.

[@tayntp]

Really love this, I first didn’t notice if this was sugarcoating or sarcastic. Your content is more in-depth than I expected. More on Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s works. Most of his iconic designs are in form of black box of glass and steel, like the current Chicago Federal Center. And it was like the go-to choice of architecture style for government office buildings at the time, too. Love to see more of your insight on this one as well.

[@jaconator1245]

I think the issue with these barebones buildings isnt the minimal detail. You can do minimalism with positive impacts, but the ‘lesser’ expression requires significantly more thought beforehand. Less expression with little aesthetic labor and thought makes you feel that youve been discarded and thrown into whatever could be most quickly constructed - because you have. No wonder poverty and crime rates skyrocketed - willing to bet depression and suicide rates skyrocketed as well. I feel like we as architects need more training in the social sciences, hence why Ive spent a lot of time studying sociology and have my honors thesis focused on the pitfalls of non-humanistic urban planning

[@coughcpr3911]

I appreciate your take on Brutalism in your other video I saw on Nebula, at least in un-pretentiously translating it. After countless hours in and around Wurster Hall at Berkeley from 1989-93 however, the brutality of it all still makes me shudder.

[@TheJojo01902]

I like the framework of ‘the two Stewarts’ you employed in structuring this video. Very effective.

[@tallguy2023]

I needed more architecture snark. I approve.

[@ruizmorelos]

I love the mix of true virtue of the building’s design decissions and the sarcasm used to point it’s flaws… loved it

[@rcbuggies57]

Have you thought about doing a video about roller coasters? Specifically the architecture of the actual coasters themselves rather than places like disney which tend to cover them up. I'm a big fan of modern architecture and there's something about steel coasters, classic wooden coasters, and hybrid coasters like RMC has been making that is so pleasing to my engineering brain while also being a marvel of architecture in itself. Especially look at wooden coasters by GCI, absolutely gorgeous structures that look like they're ripped out of the notebooks of Da Vinci

[@stewarthicks]

Great idea.

[@fredericapanon207]

​@@stewarthicks Vancouver, BC, has one of the last wooden roller coaster in North America. Though I read recently that its days are numbered...

[@woolfel]

this format is fun. It's a good reminder to everyone, it doesn't matter if you have a fancy degree or title. Convincing yourself one aesthetic is better doesn't actually make it better for everyone.

[@pigeon_the_brit565]

'less is more' doomed many historic buildings, and created many buildings that looked almost exactly the same all over the world, while destroying unique and irreplaceable buildings.

[@sygad1]

strangely enough, been watching you for long enough now that the explanations weren't necessary, great video as always and the sarcasm @ 5:50 was next level ;-)

[@federicoganora6936]

I think your video suffers from a one-sidedness that makes it hard to appreciate your argument, for how horrible these structures now look in retrospect at the time they symbolized the future, although naively. I have personally always associated the phrase "less is more" with the music of Miles Davis where the (relative) simplicity of his improvisation allowed for an incredible sincerity of expression. Of course this mantra taken to the extreme can become the death of the thing itself and that is shown very well in your video. But, by only presenting the caricature of modernism (irl you) and the critique of modernism (voice-over you) without showcasing any positive example of modernism (e.g. Sidney Opera House) you make it hard to understand what mistakes were made and why. TLDR - I agree with the conclusions but not the construction of your argument :)

[@mhldnkv]

That's a great video format! As a fan, I hope to see more of it! :)

[@jimurrata6785]

Interesting how you mention I-91 dividing and segregating Chicago. Id love to see you do a segment on Robert Moses' legacy. While not strictly an architect he did shape America's largest city and it's entire metropolitan area with the Port Authority (nee Triboro Bridge Authority)

[@Bozebo]

I'm pretty sure it spread just because it was cheaper and needed less skills. Go back a few decades more and most moderately important buildings were covered in unique hand carved masonry and art... like the building I now live in, it was literally built to house as many people as possible as cheaply as possible in slums, yet has fancy wood carvings and fancy masonry throughout.

[@rico4.700]

3:34 not really, the word "lesson" comes from the french word "leçon". so the two are not related. EDIT: the format of this video was really engaging btw.

[@stewarthicks]

I need you to pop in with a green screen.

[@coeurdechoeur]

I came here to say that. It ultimately comes from the Latin word "lectiō," which means "reading."

[@rico4.700]

@@coeurdechoeur true, as most things in french, blame latin.

[@EmmaMaySeven]

Thanks for pointing this out! And just to complete the circle of meaning: the "reading" was originally from the Bible and intended to teach the listener on spiritual matters.

[@kemuntomaranga9576]

Your content quality just keeps going up

[@jespersort1]

If you think Mies is difficult to renovate as a listet building, you should se the detailing of Arne Jacobsen sigh...

[@antiprismatic]

Wow you crushed it! Thank you for such a lovely well thought out personal dialogue!!!!!!

[@ImHavingaCoronary]

"Less is more" should really be expressed "I'm a architect that can't handle complexity and nuance".

[@bob_mikhail]

I like Swedish design, for me "less is more" does not mean "bare bones", but rather "concise", express the same message clearly still, but with less clutter. Rusting steel is a fail to follow that principle

[@fishside_8757]

I literally just finished and submitted an essay about this

[@stewarthicks]

Oh interesting!

[@jackjackson7537]

Just found your channel. I didn't think I would become fascinated with architecture today, but your delivery is A+, and your style of content is great, as it gives me a good laugh while educating me on the ups and downs of various architecture styles. You earned another subscriber out of me today.

[@GKCanton]

You, sir, have a gift for satire.... especially self-satire. From here on in I shall embrace morelessing and simplificity.

[@TheSwissChalet]

I myself prefer complexicism.

[@ninjanerdstudent6937]

The production value has really increased for this episode.

[@StephanKochs]

As someone who lives around the corner from one of the first buildings he was involved in planning and his old training center... I really like Mies. And it's unbelievable how little he is present in the city of his birth. At least we now have a house with a permanent exhibition.

[@StephanKochs]

Oh and… Thank you for this and all of your videos!

[@stephenmoerlein8470]

Totally agree. I spent some time outside of Aachen as a post-doc, and was surprised to see how little was celebrated about this architectural genius.

[@centerbfd]

Standing in front of a steel frame and brick wall with caulk peeling out is an interesting way to sell modernism... Idea for a field trip: go to Perret's neighborhood in Le Havre to see how to use a grid right. Also, better detailing.

[@calmeilles]

You're right. The over-the-top fan boy with slyly added sarcasm and additional commentary format doesn't really work. 🤣

[@pablogl9z]

I read this article about what guides popular contemporary designs. It proposed that as individuals we notice in others what we feel we lack. At the macro level, society does exactly that. Popular design trends correlate directly to what society is missing and longing for. In the 60’s when wars were afloat, minimalism brought a sense of tranquility. To me it makes sense.

[@toto123456ish]

Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add but when there is nothing left to remove.

[@w88dm4n]

Really enjoyed the back and forth of your views. Best video thus far.

[@golwenlothlindel]

My church is next to a Mies Van der Rohe building, and the contrast with this campus couldn't be more stark. Granted, I'm sure there was some eminent domain chicanery that led to it's construction: it is in the middle of a major city after all, and takes up almost an entire block. But it's a library, and the hub for all the city's libraries. Whether intentional or not, it's design is also very friendly to the less fortunate citizens. It has this massive colonnade on the ground level, covering almost half the (very generous) sidewalk. It's a favored spot for the city's unhoused population: sheltered from the weather, and near the charity programs provided by the churches adjacent. So much so that when the building was renovated, the city decided to station a social worker at the library. The modern renovations have reduced the thermal exchange issues the building used to have, while preserving it's iconic exterior. Also, the library needed new spaces for computer labs, exhibition space, 3-D printers and a café. It also has a roof terrace now, an amenity increasingly valued by the citizens of this hot and humid city (the office building nearby also has a roof terrace). Native grasses and shrubs attract insects and birds to the top of a steel and glass box. Although never without controversy, the building has for much of it's history been a symbol of everything that's right with city architecture and planning. I suppose it goes to show that it isn't the design that's the problem, but the application. The building is quite attractive, and in a city defined by Neoclassicism doesn't seem so out of place. For all his "rebelliousness", Van der Rohe understood the importance of the Golden Mean, and used it masterfully. What far too many modernists failed to grasp is that on a lot of older buildings the "decorations" were there to correct the building's proportions. If you're going to have no decorations, then your proportions need to be perfect from the inside out. With it's regular rows of I-beams and black color, the library sort of seems like the yin to the yang of the museum catty corner: the surface level opposition only revealing the fundamental similarity (the I-beam and the ionic column after all have a functional as well as aesthetic similarity). Particularly since Van der Rohe added pale gold brick to the bottom of the building, while the museum has a subway stop with black escalators and black sign pillar at it's base. Plus, library-museum, words-pictures: but both institutions that make art accessible to the public. This was accidental, but it's very appropriate one block off of historic Chinatown.

[@ondenbern]

The moment at 4:00 when he talks about the details and materials coming together, Infront of the poorly maintained, not well put together background is great cinematography

[@pavelow235]

So the men living in the cardboard boxes down by the metro stations know something we don't.

[@chiefenumclaw7960]

Maybe they're architects too?

[@Xanderall]

When I first viewed it, I actually believed you were sincere about doing a couple of actual corrections. But when you got to the part where you were fanboyying over rust, I realized I’d been had. Well played!

[@WinstonSmithGPT]

If we had banned all building in the second half of the twentieth century we would’ve had a far more beautiful country.

[@iout]

3:32 "Less" and "Lesson" do not actually share the same root word. While the rest of the video has a good back-and-forth, providing arguments and counterarguments in the debate, this is sorta offhandedly mentioned and left unchallenged, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to provide more information. From Etymonline: Less: Old English læs (adv.) "less, lest;" læssa (adj.) "less, smaller, fewer" (Northumbrian leassa), from Proto-Germanic *laisizan (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian les "less;" Middle Dutch lise "soft, gentle," German leise "soft"), from PIE root *leis- (2) "small" (source also of Lithuanian liesas "thin") + comparative suffix. Lesson: early 13c., "a reading aloud from the Bible," also "something to be learned by a student," from Old French leçon, from Latin lectionem (nominative lectio) "a reading," noun of action from past participle stem of legere "to read," from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather," with derivatives meaning "to speak (to 'pick out words')." Transferred sense of "an occurrence from which something can be learned" is from 1580s. tl;dr "Less" entered English through Germanic branches and "Lesson" through Romantic. With both words ultimately deriving from different Proto-Indo-European roots.

[@vsiarv]

Its unfortunate that we, architects, live in a world that makes it almost mandatory to create only modernist structures (from arch. school projects to the works to be realized in profession) that will be hated by the society, who technically, are the people architecture is meant to serve towards.

[@seanmurphy9776]

Agreed. I miss the historic crafted styles and would like to see a return to the details. Modernism often has very little character and is driven by mass production and the almighty dollar. I am working right now to codify better architecture in my municipality because developers won't do it on their own.