Barcelona Pavilion

This blog post is about Mies van der Rohe and the Barcelona Pavilion, as part of the Structures, Materials and Spaces module.

Mies van der Rohe or born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies March 27, 1886 – August 17, 1969 was a German-American architect who broke new ground with his architectural designs. He started out as a draftsman before heading out later on his own. During World War I, Mies served in the German military. He then became a well-known architect in Germany, creating such structures as the German Pavilion for the 1929 Barcelona Exposition. 

One of Mies's most impressive works from this period was the German Pavilion he created for the Barcelona Exposition in Spain. Constructed from 1928 to 1929, this exhibition structure was a modern marvel of glass, metal and stone. Miles van der Rohe is also known for his role in the development of the most enduring architectural style of the era: modernism ,in the 1920’s, which had a big influence in the design of the Barcelona Pavilion, for example the major use of; glass, metal and stone. Along with this, The replica of the Barcelona Pavilion was intended to be a like for like structure. However, due to the materials used; marble being one in particular. Exact replicas could simply not be made even though the were taken from the same place, different styles and shapes would get given each time.

Even though the Pavilion is said to be one of the greatest structures, a downfall of the building is the concept of the Barcelona Pavilion was neither as ephemeral nor more so than other contemporary structures built with modern technology in which the structure itself and the pavilions are separate. The predominance of stainless steel, glass and stone do not evoke an image of fragility or limited lifespan as all are long lasting materials. The stable quality of the metallic walls and travertine platform evoke stable and long lasting images which bear no relationship with the mobile, prefabricated or do it yourself buildings so typical of our time. Along with this, the main focus for the building was to have every structural piece be useful in the framing of the building. However, the columns in the space hold no actual support to the building and are simply put in for aesthetics. As for the exhibition space in the Pavilion, there simply is none. The space is the exhibit as there is nothing actually on show inside, aside from the iconic Barcelona designer chairs which are as iconic as the Pavilion, even though these chairs are replicas of the originals which were pig skinned leather and bespoke. The current chairs are mass produced from the company Knolls, which is said that Mrs Knolls and Mies van der Rohe had a relationship and this is a potential reason for these ‘uncomfortable’ chairs to be in the Pavilion.

When speaking about the Barcelona Pavilion; only one name comes to mind, however Mies van der Rohe did not work alone on this. Lilly Reich was a female co-designer working alongside Meis van der Rohe, yet her name is often excluded. Is this because the design world is so male dominated that female input into projects are not classed as being ‘good enough’ in this mans world?