New National Gallery, Berlin: Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe

The New National Gallery of Art in Berlin was Mies van der Rohe's last great building - the culmination of his aesthetic ideas and his sixty-year-long career. The gallery's compositional effect is classical, an impression that arises from the way in which the steel stanchions are carefully proportioned and spaced to recall classical columns; while the vast overhanging steel roof was intended to evoke a notional entablature. Sheltered by this roof is a great abstract 'universal' space capable of subdivision by freestanding panels designed for the hanging of artworks. Overall, the building is a monumental statement but one which bears witness to Mies's consummate sense of detail and craftsmanship in steel.