Barcelona Pavilion, also known as German Pavilion, was the place where the international exposition of 1929 took place. The Pavilion building is well-known for its great modern architecture and extravagant materials. However, the purpose of the building was to accommodate the Spanish King and Queen during the inauguration of the international fair. Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, a German architect, and Lilly Reich designed the famous Barcelona chair, which became the only furniture that decorated the Pavilion building. The International Fair held in Barcelona also had many pavilions, most of which have now been converted into museums.
The Pavilion Building
The Barcelona Pavilion building, a fine example for modern architecture, has various extravagant materials like marbles and travertine. The building featured a passage to the exhibition halls and other terrace-like avenues. The building has a large travertine marble podium channeled between separate vertical and horizontal spaces. However, the building neither had a functional program during the fair nor any exhibits. Moreover, the building did not have any significant importance during the fair and it was dismantled after the Fair. A replica of the Pavilion building was reconstructed on the same site in 1986. It was said that during their visit to the Pavilion, the King and Queen of Spain did not use the Barcelona chairs.
Barcelona Chair
Mies, the architect who designed the Barcelona Pavilion, designed the Barcelona chair along with his long time partner Lily Reich. The main purpose of the Der Rohe Barcelona chair was to serve as thrones for the Spanish King and Queen during their visit to the Pavilion building. However, the furniture Barcelona chairs including stools, couches and tables went unused by the King and Queen. Despite being unused by the Royal visitors, Mies Barcelona Chair gained reputation as “a design worthy of kings”.
Barcelona chair designed by Mies featured white leather strands, firm cushions, pig skin leather material and x-shaped bolted frame. The Barcelona chairs designed by Mies also featured an ivory color. It was also said that Barcelona chair was inspired by the Egyptian style folding chairs and the Roman footstools. Though Mies thought that his designs should be affordable to the common masses, Barcelona chair was too expensive and required plenty of hand work thereby making it inaccessible to the common masses.
Modern Design
Barcelona style chairs were re-designed in 1950 to feature stainless steel frame instead of the bolted one. Instead of the expensive pig skin, Barcelona chair now features bovine leather for the commercial production. Recently various styles that are not designed by Mies like Barcelona Ottoman, Barcelona stools, Barcelona Lounges, Barcelona Daybed, Barcelona Coffee Table and Barcelona sofas also came into existence.
Knoll, which owns the original trademark rights of Barcelona chairs, made many changes to the original specification of the Barcelona chair. New materials like stainless steel and chrome steel has came into use. Though the trademark rights of Barcelona chairs belongs to Knoll, unauthorized designs of cheap Barcelona chairs are now produced and marketed worldwide by various manufacturers. Barcelona style chairs are now available in various countries including Italy, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, China, Russia, Korea, and Turkey.
