Documenting Mies van der Rohe’s unrealised Mansion House Square tower

Published by the REAL Foundation, ‘Mies In London’ documents the design of – and ultimate failure to realise – Mies van der Rohe’s only UK project, a bronze tower and plaza at Mansion House Square, by the Bank of England. Commissioned in 1962 by developer Peter Palumbo, Mies’ project was dogged by controversy for more than 20 years before its cancellation in 1984.

Edited by Jack Self and Yulia Rudenko and designed by OK-RM, ‘Mies In London’ includes previously unseen and restored material sourced from nearly a dozen institutions and private collections, including RIBA, the Canadian Centre for Architecture and Drawing Matter. Archive material comprises the bulk of the book’s 160 pages, and it contains neither a conventional introduction nor lengthy academic essays.

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When Mies realised he was being asked to do a posthumous commission, says Self, he asked the client: “So what do you want… a napkin sketch?”. Palumbo replied: “I want you to go all the way. I want the lot, inside and out. I want door handles. I want ashtrays. I want letter shoots.” “Very well,” Mies replied, “I’ll do it.” Publication of the book is accompanied by the launch of two of these Mies-designed products – a travertine ashtray and a paperweight in the form of a bronze door handle (also available for commercial specification, manufactured by Ize).

‘Mies In London’
Ed. Jack Self and Yulia Rudenko
REAL Foundation, 160pp, £70
Available only from the website mies.london

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