In Late Modernist architecture,
the most influential architect was the German-born Ludwig Mies van der
Rohe (1886-1969). He was the last head of the Bauhaus, Germany’s
premier design school before WWII, and closed its doors in 1933.
He moved to the United States in 1938. In the 1950s he captured the
world’s attention with a glass skyscraper, New York City’s Seagram Building.
Based on the creed "Less is more," the design is simple: a bronze skeletal
frame on which are hung tinted windows. These are the building’s
only decorative feature. So successful was Mies van der Rohe’s "glass
box" building that skyscrapers built according to similar designs soon
dominated the skylines of major cities all around the world, making them
the most recognizable symbol of Late Modernism.