2. BARCELONA PAVILION was
designed by ‘Ludwig Miles Van der
Rohe’ as the German National
Pavilion for the Barcelona
International Exhibition,held on
Montjuic in 1929.
Ludwig Miles Van derRohe
It is an important building
in the history of modern
architecture.
german pavilion, barcelona, 1929
mies van der roh
3.
4. The architect Miles Van der Rohe was intrested in developing free flowing space
and this is done using walls as planes in isolation, joined by sliding elements or
glass.Thus the wall is expressed as a single element using with space flowing
around it.The majority of the pavilion building is constructed out of (cream
coloured) travertine which gives the building a luxurious fell and aids the
prospective of spaciousness.
5. - Barcelona Pavilion is known for its simple form and
its spectacular use of extravagant materials
such as marble,red onyx and travertine
6. Its architecture is pure poetry, simple honest planes of stone with slim,
graceful polished steel cruciform columns. The integration of water
through two shallow pools brings calmness and reflection to the
pavilion.
9. ■ Aftethe closure of the Exhibition, the Pavilion was disassembled in 1930. As time went by, it became a
key point of reference not only in Mies van der Rohe’s own career but also in twentieth-century architecture
as a whole. Given the significance and reputation of the Pavilion, thoughts turned towards its possible
reconstruction.r
■ In 1980 Oriol Bohigas, as head of the Urban Planning Department at the Barcelona City
Council, set the project in motion, designating architects Ignasi de Solà-Morales, Cristian Cirici
and Fernando Ramos to research, design and supervise the reconstruction of the Pavilion.
Work began in 1983 and the new building was opened on its original site in 1986.
■ Glass, steel and four different kinds of stone (Roman travertine, green Alpine marble, ancient green marble
from Greece and golden onyx from the Atlas Mountains) were used for the reconstruction, all of the same
characteristics and provenance as the ones originally employed by Mies in 1929.
10. THE BARCELONA CHAIR
Mies van der Rohe designed a chair, especially f or t he Pavilion,
consist ing of a leat herupholst ered met allic prof ile t hat over
t he years has become an icon of modern design. To such an
ext ent , in f act , t hat t he Barcelona chair is st ill manuf act ured
and market ed t oday
12. Georg Kolbe’s sculpture
The sculpt ure is a bronze reproduct ion of t he piece ent it led
Dawn by Georg Kolbe, a cont emporary of Mies van der Rohe.
Mast erf ully placed at one end of t he small pond, t he sculpt ure
is ref lect ed not only in t he wat er but also in t he marble and
glass, t hereby creat ing t he sensat ion t hat it is mult iplied in
space, while it s curves cont rast wit h t he geomet rical purit y of
t he building.