Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: Google Doodle Celebrates 126th Birthday of Modernist Design Pioneer

Google's doodle on Tuesday pays homage to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, one of the masters of modern architecture whose 126th birthday falls on March 27.

The building themed doodle is reminiscent of the architect's skin and bones style that was eventually set as the standard for the world we see now. Mies' belief in the less is more concept is reflected in the way he adopted the use of clean lines and vast spaces that were defined by extensive steel frameworks. In a career that lasted over 50 years, the German-born architect achieved his vision for the twentieth century style, incorporating elements of clarity and simplicity in his modernist designs.

Born in Aachen in 1886, Mies worked his way through several architecture firms before moving to Berlin where he served a brief stint as the director of the Bauhaus, an art and design school. As his designs were rejected by the Nazis, Mies was forced to flee the country and go to the US in 1938.

Among his famous works in America are New York's Seagram Building, Houston's Museum of Fine Arts and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington D.C.

According to the Telegraph, Google's new logo is actually a doodle of one of his masterpieces: the Crown Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology, which he headed when he immigrated to Chicago.

According to the Mies van der Rohe Society, Mies' work has gone beyond merely affecting our lives, endow(ing) them with greater significance and beauty. His buildings radiate the confidence, rationality and elegance of their creator and, free of ornamentation and excess, confess the essential elements of our lives. In our time, where there is no limit to excess, Mies' reductionist approach is as pertinent as ever. As we reduce the distractions and focus on the essential elements of our environment and ourselves, we find they are great, intricate, and beautiful. Less is more.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe died in Chicago, Aug. 17, 1969.