Google Doodles Mies

Today Google celebrates Mies van der Rohe on what would be his 126th birthday with a doodle melding the Google name and Crown Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

mies-126.jpg

Not surprisingly the curves of each letter are made orthogonal, squeezed into the gridded framework of the building. I could see other Mies projects working just as well -- the Farnsworth House, the Seagram Building, even the recently restored Tugendhat Villa -- but I think Google did a good job with Crown Hall. I especially like the way the letters respond to the transparency of the top half and the frosted are below it.