Mies meets Ellington... Again

Chicago, IL — February 25, 2008 —

A celebration of the 122nd birthday of famed architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe will be held on Saturday, March 29, 8 – 11 pm at S. R. Crown Hall, on the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) campus, 3360 South State Street, Chicago, featuring the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

This year’s Mies birthday party will celebrate the 1957 ‘I- Ball,’ held in S.R. Crown Hall, where the IIT student body danced to the swinging tunes of the 15-piece Duke Ellington Orchestra that featured notables Johnny Hodges and Paul Gonsalves.

During the 1957 event, Ellington told Mies, “You know, the acoustics in this place are the best of any place I have ever played.” Of Crown Hall, Mies said, “This building could be a nightclub on Saturday night and a garage on Sunday morning.”

Mies elevated Chicago’s skyline and changed the world of architecture and living. His influence reaches every skyline in the world. Crown Hall is considered one of Mies’ greatest masterworks and is a National Historic Landmark. It is the centerpiece of IIT’s master campus plan. The building, which was renovated in 2005, is famous for its clear structural expression with its ultra-thin steel and glass façade. In January, Crown Hall found a new use as a performance space for dance as students from the IIT College of Architecture and dancers and choreographers from Hubbard Street Dance Chicago collaborated on a performance space for a series of performances.

The party is sponsored by IIT’s Mies van der Rohe Society. The Mies van der Rohe Society is dedicated to preserving Mies’ legacy, restoring his renowned IIT buildings to enhance student educational programs, and reinforcing Chicago’s international reputation for architectural distinction. The Society has raised funds for the restoration of many of the Mies campus buildings and its current thrust is the repair of the elegant Carr Memorial Chapel, a true campus jewel. Gunny Harboe is the preservation architect for the Chapel and part of the monies raised at the Ellington evening are to be used for this project.

Tickets are $75 per person and $40 per person for Mies Society members. Current IIT architecture students will be party guests. There will be an open bar, a dessert table, and, of course, a birthday cake, plus dancing all evening to the music of a legendary orchestra in one of the world’s most beautiful buildings. Reservations are required by March 21. For more information or to order tickets, visit www.mies.iit.edu.

Founded in 1890, IIT is a  PhD.-granting university with more than 7,300 students in engineering, sciences, architecture, psychology, design, humanities, business, and law. IIT’s interprofessional, technology-focused curriculum is designed to advance knowledge through research and scholarship, to cultivate inventions that improve the human condition, and to prepare students from throughout the world for a life of professional achievement, service to society, and individual fulfillment. Visit www.iit.edu.