the campus, roughly bounded between 31st and 35th streets, michigan avenue and the dan ryan expressway, was designed by modernist architect ludwig mies van der rohe, "one of the great figures of 20th-century architecture", who chaired the iit school of architecture from 1938 to 1958. van der rohe's master plan for the iit campus was one of the most ambitious projects he ever conceived. the campus has twenty of his works. it is the greatest concentration of his buildings in the world. the layout of the campus departs radically from "traditional college quadrangles and limestone buildings". the materials are inspired by the factories and warehouses of chicago's south side and "embod[y] 20th century methods and materials: steel and concrete frames with curtain walls of brick and glass."