Werner Blaser (1924–2019) was a prominent Swiss architect, designer, and architectural critic. After training as a furniture maker in Basel, he worked with Alvar Aalto in Helsinki before moving to Chicago in 1951, where he studied at the Illinois Institute of Technology under Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Blaser became one of the world's foremost authorities on Mies van der Rohe's work, publishing numerous monographs and publications documenting the architect's furniture, interiors, and structural principles. He was also a significant scholar of Japanese and Chinese architecture. Throughout his career, he maintained an extensive archive of architectural photography and literature, which he used to inform his own design practice and his role as a publicist for international architecture.[1,2]
Mies van der Rohe: Furniture and Interiors1982 · Academy editions · book · EnglishISBN 085670721XFirst U.S. edition published by Barron's Educational Series.
Mies van der Rohe – Die Kunst der Struktur1965 · Verlag für Architektur Artemis · book · GermanAuthorized monograph by Mies van der Rohe.
Mies van der Rohe – Möbel und Interieurs1981 · Deutsche Verlagsanstalt · book · GermanISBN 3-421-02560-6Original German edition of the book in question.
Tempel und Teehaus in Japan1963 · Birkhäuser Verlag · book · GermanFirst major publication on Japanese architecture.
Synthesis. Texte und Collagen2017 · Birkhäuser Verlag · book · GermanISBN 978-3-0356-1136-6Collection of texts and collages.
Exhibitions
1950Alvar AaltoBaldwin + Kingrey, Chicagosolo
1955Tempel und Teehaus in JapanGewerbemuseum Basel, Baselsolo
1986Mies van der Rohe – less is moreKrönungssaal im Rathaus Aachen, Aachengroup
2000West meets East Mies van der RoheVarious (Berlin, Helsinki, Weimar)group
Awards
1952Good Design AwardMoMA
1955Concorso internazionale dei Mobile (First Prize)Cantu, Italy
