The most common attack on the curve is the claim of arbitrariness, a rationalist critique which takes full advantage of the social tendency towards scientific proof. The curve does after all denote an authorship a universal geometry would not. Adolf Behne rejects Henry Van de Velde’s use of the curve in favor of Hugo Häring’s functionalist curve. He attacks Van de Velde’s curve as being merely illustrative and arbitrary. Behne then defends Haring by combating the line stating “the rectangular room and the straight line are not functional but mechanical creations.” He then goes on to argue the rectilinear room is nonsensical as a functionalist argument because the corners of the room are useless. “If I were to outline the areas in a room that are actually used and walked upon, then I would inevitably arrive at a curve”.2 By separating Häring and Van de Velde, Behne walks alongside a large sum of people defending the curve in rationalist terms. He is now speaking the same language as the rationalists, which suggests Van de Velde was a casualty, not the enemy. Behne later defends Van de Velde’s use of the curve for its consistent emphasis on functional form. He goes on to explain the real advancement of this work is its use of movement “as a force plastically organizing the building from the inside. [Behne states Van de Velde] arrives at curves and flourishes, at forms that could be true once only, i.e., they are valid in only one context”.3 This defense points to a common difference between rationalist and organic theories – the universal vs specific.
Mies van der Rohe friedrichstraße office building, 1922. competition entry. perspective sketch
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Mies van der Rohe friedrichstraße office building, 1922. competition entry. floor plan
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t Hugo Häring friedrichstraße of-
fice building, 1922. competition entry. plan of first design t Hugo Häring friedrichstraße of-
fice building, 1922. competition entry. floor plan u Hugo Häring friedrichstraße office building, 1922. competition entry. perspective sketch
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