Barcelona Chair – Timeless Quality

The Barcelona Chair Germany was originally created as part of the showcase in the German Pavilion during the 1929 international exposition in Barcelona, Spain. Since then, the beauty and the functional elegance of the chair caught the world’s eye and which had never been duplicated since even up to this day.

The chair, a cushion sewn from 148 pieces of leather, was created by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and interior designer Lilly Reich as commissioned by Georg von Schnitzel (the German pavilion commissioner). The chair is set upon on chrome-finish legs to become one of the most celebrated designs in the exposition.

The look

The extravagant buttoned leather seat does not really conform to the designer’s orientation of the customary Bauhaus approach which emphasizes function over that of form. It was only because it was going to be used by Spain’s King Alfonso in the Barcelona expo that designer Mies van der Rohe had to make it extravagant enough for royalty.

The form of the chair was thought to have been mirrored from the Roman folding chairs used by the Roman aristocracy. The chair’s crossed legs mimicked the thrones of the Egyptian pharaohs. According to its modern manufacturer today, the chair’s industrial appearance required much hand craftsmanship.

 Instant Classic

The Barcelona Chair Germany is often mistaken as a product to represent the mid-century modernism, although it is a commissioned work in an effort to talk-up Germany’s political and economic recovery from their defeat in the First World War. Schnitzel hires Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich to give “voice to the spirit of a new world era”.

Mies is regarded as a modern pioneer of modern furniture with a deceptively simple style with clean lines and using modern materials. He usually used plate glass and stainless steel which he referred to as the “skin and bones: architecture. 

What he created, the chair named after the city of Barcelona, became one of the oldest modern classics still around to this day.

When Reich died in 1948, Mies van de Rohe granted the Knoll Company the rights to produce the furniture. Its welded stainless steel replacing the bolted frame became widely popular in the 50s and 60s. Knoll patented the chair only in 2004, the reason why there are many replicas in the market today.

Redesign

Mies redesigned the Barcelona in 1950 using modern techniques that allowed the frame to be molded from a single piece of stainless steel (compared to the old style where they are bolted together). The original pigskin seat had been replaced with cow leather which Knoll still produces today.

While it is a mass-produced item, the upholstery consists of 40 individual panels from a single hide, so it has the qualities of a hand-made piece. This might be one reason that goes in some way to account for its price which is around £4,500 currently.

For all its humble history, the Barcelona Chair Germany is unmistakably modern in its looks while retaining its classic quality. Still judging from its looks, the chair is here to stay.