Google is paying homage to German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe today with a doodle that celebrates his 126th birthday.

"Today's doodle in virtual steel/glass pays tribute to Mies van der Rohe, master of modern architecture," Google tweeted today. "Less is more."

The image is a rendering of S.R. Crown Hall on the Illinois Institute of Technology's Main Campus, which the Mies van der Rohe Society said is the architect's "legendary architectural achievement."

The doodle was created by San Francisco-based artist and Google doodler Willie Real. In an interview with the Mies van der Rohe Society, Real said he "volunteered for this doodle because it was going to be my first architect doodle and Mies Van Der Rohe is not a bad first at all."

Real said he had an interest in architecture at an early age, but the math involved convinced him to instead "stick to the visual said of things." In creating the Mies doodle, Real said "the right angles and the straight edges were intimidating at first but after a few sketches and some very careful hand-eye coordination, I think it worked well."

"We get excited when we're able to change the logo around and this was a cool opportunity to incorporate the letters into the frame work of Crown Hall," Real continued. "What I think really helps the doodle are the little figures in front of the building. They give an overall sense of scale and hopefully justify Crown Hall's presence."

Real conceded that "Mies did so many great buildings that are worthy of a doodle, but it was pretty evident from the get go that highlighting what many consider his masterpiece was the way to go."

Mies was born in Aachen, Germany in 1886, and moved to Berlin in 1905 to pursue architecture. Three years later, he joined the staff at Peter Behrens' atelier. By 1930, he became the director of the Bauhaus art school, but it was shut down two years later by the Nazi regime. Mies later emigrated to the United States to head the Armour Institute, which later became the Illinois Institute of Technology. He remained there until 1958, when his busy schedule prompted him to focus on his own projects.

S.R. Crown Hall isn't the only Mies creation at IIT. He also designed the Minerals and Metals Building, the Robert F. Carr Memorial Chapel of St. Savior, Wishnick Hall, as well as the school's Master Plan, among other buildings.

Mies passed away in Chicago in 1969. For more, the Mies van der Rohe Society has a full catalogue of his work on its website.

For more on Google's doodles, meanwhile, see the slideshow below. Recently, the company honored origami legend Akira Yoshizawa. One of the company's more popular doodles last year was a playable image in honor of musician Les Paul, which eventually got its own standalone site. The company has also honored Gumby creator Art Clokey, Muppets creator Jim Henson, Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, and Intel co-founder Robert Noyce.

In 2011, it was revealed that Google obtained a patent for its popular homepage doodles, covering "systems and methods for enticing users to access a Web site." Not everyone is charmed. PCMag's Jamie Lendino recently implored: Enough With the Google Doodles.