A German-American architect, commonly referred to and addressed as Mies, his surname. Along with Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd Wright, he is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of modern architecture.

Like many of his post-WWI contemporaries, he sought to establish a new architectural style that could represent modern times just as Classical and Gothic did for their own eras. He created an influential 20th century architectural style, stated with extreme clarity and simplicity, using modern materials such as industrial steel and plate glass to define interior spaces. He strove toward an architecture with a minimal framework of structural order balanced against the implied freedom of free-flowing open space. He is often associated with his quotation of the aphorisms 'less is more' and 'God is in the details'.

Early in his career, he worked alongside Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier in Germany. He joined the German avant-garde, but was attracted to the modern American architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. He was the last director of the Bauhaus before reluctantly moving to the USA in 1937.