ave assumed God had), presents the entire church as a giant cross lying on the ground.Chartres Cathedral, while not as well unified in design as the majority of Gothic churches, has captured the interest of people through the years. Part of the fascination with it may be some of its irregularities, such as the unmatched spires, resulting from the destruction of the north spire by fire, and its reconstruction in a different style centuries after its beginning. The atmosphere of this church remains medieval, created by the figures which people its wall and by the symbols woven throughout in every block of stone. The builders effectively created a spiritual mystery in earthly space, communicating the wonder and the glory of the presence of God.The Modern SkyscraperIt is not cathedrals, however, which characterize the commercial districts of the great cities of today, but the tall, slender skyscrapers rising well above the pavements crowded with urban shoppers--glass towers reflecting on their surfaces at once the partially hidden sky above and the life of the city below.The Seagram Building (1956-58) in New York City exemplifies this type of building very well. Designed by Mies van der Rohe (in association with Philip Johnson), it is a pioneer achievement which set the pattern for the twentieth century, establishing the new "International Style." This style, guided by the earlier-mentioned dictum "form follows function," has led its adherents away from ornamentation for its own sake and has given attention to exploiting the aesthetic possibilities of functional space. This direction has drawn the architect and the abstract painter into closer association as they arrange shapes and textures and colors and lines into artistic compositions.As an architect, Mies van der Rohe is a perfectionist, demanding excellent craftsmanship and giving careful attention to detail. In the Seagram Building, he avoided the flashy look of many steel-and-...
