Enter Dirk Lohan's house

When architect and designer Dirk Lohan lived as a child in Germany in the early fifties, Chicago photographers Hedrich Blessing sent his mother prints of the monumental apartment buildings that his grandfather had designed in this US city. Lohan's grandfather, the inescapable Mies van der Rohe, had already designed her parents' apartment on the outskirts of Berlin, but these steel and glass buildings were something different. "Where we lived, we didn't have any of this. There were no skyscrapers or Great Lakes. I said to myself at the time 'one day I'm going to live there'", says Dirk Lohan, who pinned photos of the buildings on his bedroom wall like your friends would hang a picture of a movie star.

In 2013, this childhood vision became reality. Dirk, his wife Cathy, and an impressive collection of art and furniture - including several originals by Mies van der Rohe - occupied the penthouse with a privileged view of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline. "I love living here. I feel so connected to nature and the climate", says Dirk. "I've been a sailor for a long time. I love looking at the lake. You can see where the wind is blowing from by looking at the pattern of the waves. When they hit, it almost feels like you're in a boat."

It is clear that the apartment was designed to take advantage of the impressive views in all directions. Inside, the furniture collection stands on a human scale in relation to the landscape, creating a welcoming environment for the architect and his wife Cathy, an interior designer. Memories of your grandfather are visible throughout the apartment, especially through the furniture. In addition to the dining table inherited from Mies, where the couple regularly receives friends and family, you can find the elegant MR chairs, several Barcelona armchairs with a beautiful patina and Tugendhat armchairs signed by the author. The apartment is also populated by other timeless creations by renowned designers, such as the Egg armchair by Arne Jacobsen, the coffee table by Isamu Noguchi or the Tufty-Time sofa by Patricia Urquiola.

The apartment is the culmination of a life in which his grandfather was a great reference on a personal and professional level. Despite not having met Mies van der Rohe until the famous architect returned from the United States for a visit to his native Germany, after having escaped the country due to the war, Dirk warmly mentions that although his mother never admitted it, he always organized the things so that he would be exposed to his grandfather's influence. In that first meeting with Mies, when young Dirk was 14 years old, the architect's genius would end up shaping his future, following in his grandfather's footsteps. First he went to the United States to study architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology under the tutelage of his grandfather, and later working with Mies on projects such as the IBM building in Chicago or the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. In the following decades, at the helm of some of the most recognized architectural studios, Dirk Lohan built an impressive portfolio of cultural and commercial projects in the United States and internationally.

In conclusion, Dirk Lohan says with a laugh: "I always said to myself that I didn't want to be a Mies historian, but he's everywhere. It's fun to think about our memories, I love talking about him."