Re-covering Mies van der Rohe's Weissenhof: The Ultimate Surface.

Conveying an image of anonymous modernity to the public, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe focused on the exterior surface of his own apartment block for the 1927 Weissenhof housing exhibition in Stuttgart. Privileging external imagery over internal innovation, Mies' main facade advertised standardization and rationalization versus flexibility and creativity within the apartment units. Rather than display a new type of housing, Mies relied on a traditional Berlin apartment template, recycling it beneath a new thin skin. In relation to his previous glass skyscraper projects, Mies exhibited what Theo van Doesburg termed "the ultimate surface." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]