A mysterious painting could be an earlier plan for one of Mies van der Rohe's most revered residential projects
“It’s been fifty years since Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s death and the details of his international career have been carefully archived. But a mysterious painting has surfaced that reveals what may be an early version of his master plan in Newark”The supposed painting depicts what could have been a disastrous expansion of the footprint of van der Rohe’s iconic 1960 apartment complex. Courtesy of Newark Public Library Digital CollectionsHis Colonnade Apartments are perhaps the foremost example of the “Towers in the park” typology synonymous with the International Style in the northeast. The painting depicts a seven tower scheme that expands the plot north of 6th Avenue by several blocks. A local architect named Gabriel Da’Maso reportedly came into its possession after seeing it in a 2011 documentary about the Colonnade by the Austrian filmmaker Heidrun Holzfeind. Dal’Maso began inspecting the painting in the midst of a one-man stand against a proposed development at an abandoned area adjacent to the Pavillion towers, where he was living at the time. The towers were sold into private hands in 2018 and again earlier this year to the tune of $77 million. JerseyDigs has more on the mystery Mies plans here....
“It’s been fifty years since Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s death and the details of his international career have been carefully archived. But a mysterious painting has surfaced that reveals what may be an early version of his master plan in Newark”
The supposed painting depicts what could have been a disastrous expansion of the footprint of van der Rohe’s iconic 1960 apartment complex.
His Colonnade Apartments are perhaps the foremost example of the “Towers in the park” typology synonymous with the International Style in the northeast. The painting depicts a seven tower scheme that expands the plot north of 6th Avenue by several blocks. A local architect named Gabriel Da’Maso reportedly came into its possession after seeing it in a 2011 documentary about the Colonnade by the Austrian filmmaker Heidrun Holzfeind.
Dal’Maso began inspecting the painting in the midst of a one-man stand against a proposed development at an abandoned area adjacent to the Pavillion towers, where he was living at the time. The towers were sold into private hands in 2018 and again earlier this year to the tune of $77 million. JerseyDigs has more on the mystery Mies plans here.
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