Krefeld Golf Club, North Rhine-Westphalia - Mies van der Rohe/ Paul Robbrecht

Mies van der Rohe plans found in MoMA archive

MoMA archive find leads Belgian architect Paul Robbrecht to build 'new' Mies masterpiece in Germany

The archives of MoMA must be literally bursting with hidden treasures if the above plan is indicative of the sort of thing buried in them. It’s the design for a golf course clubhouse, and its author is Ludwig Mies van de Rohe.

His 1930 design was never built, nor (until now) were the architectural drawings even published. You can't help but feel for the members of the newly-founded Krefeld Golf Club in North Rhine-Westphalia, when their plans were scuppered by the Great Depression.

 

Krefeld Golf Club, North Rhine-Westphalia - Mies van der Rohe/ Paul Robbrecht
Krefeld Golf Club, North Rhine-Westphalia - Mies van der Rohe/ Paul Robbrecht

 

Nevertheless, all around them were other examples of the Mies genius. Between 1927 and 1938 the great architect was responsible for nine projects in the town, including his only factory building, the villa ensemble known as the Haus Lange Haus Esters museum group and two exhibition pavilions.

 

Krefeld Golf Club, North Rhine-Westphalia - Mies van der Rohe/ Paul Robbrecht
Krefeld Golf Club, North Rhine-Westphalia - Mies van der Rohe/ Paul Robbrecht

Since 2010 the ‘Mies van der Rohe in Krefeld’ association has been trumpeting the town’s privileged legacy, and their efforts have resulted in the construction of the clubhouse as an installation.

 

Krefeld Golf Club, North Rhine-Westphalia - Mies van der Rohe/ Paul Robbrecht
Krefeld Golf Club, North Rhine-Westphalia - Mies van der Rohe/ Paul Robbrecht

Belgian architect Paul Robbrecht was tasked with building a 1:1 scale model from Mies's plans, 84m by 87m and mostly of wood. Visitors can walk around it on the original planned site until 27 October, which sounds like a golden opportunity for Mies aficionados to take in Krefeld’s other architectural jewels.

 

Krefeld Golf Club, North Rhine-Westphalia - Mies van der Rohe/ Paul Robbrecht
Krefeld Golf Club, North Rhine-Westphalia - Mies van der Rohe/ Paul Robbrecht

It's no surprise that this is a sensitive and clean interpretation. Robbrecht’s firm Robbrecht en Daem was responsible for Ghent’s new Market Hall that we so admired. You may be interested to know of a rather fine publication on Mies's work. It's called Mies van der Rohe at Work and is an in-depth study of 28 of Mies' most important buildings, including the Seagram Building, the Barcelona Pavilion and the wonderful New National Gallery in Berlin. Check it out in the store

 

Krefeld Golf Club, North Rhine-Westphalia - Mies van der Rohe/ Paul Robbrecht
Krefeld Golf Club, North Rhine-Westphalia - Mies van der Rohe/ Paul Robbrecht