Modernism and Classic Design with the Barcelona Chair

There are many options that one can choose from when it comes to furniture design, but when it boils down to the best the list gets whittled down to a handful. And probably of these designs that would have achieved such a title is the Barcelona Chair.

Considered to the be one of the most recognizable furniture designs of the early 20th century, the Barcelona chair is a black-and-chrome chair by renowned modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The chair got its name from the fact that it was part of the German Pavilion, Germany’s official entry to the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition held at Barcelona, Spain.

The Barcleona Chair was the brainchild of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a Bahaus architect and designer and one of the pioneers of the modern style in architectural and furniture design. However, it was recently revealed that Mies van der Rohe also collaborated heavily with his longtime companion, designer Lilly Reich, for this piece. The Barcelona was said to be based upon the classical campaign and folding chairs of ancient times, and that it was inspired by the works of renowned German artist George Kolbe.

As Ludwig Mies vand der Rohe is considered to be one of the founding fathers of the modern style, it is not surprising to find its distinct characteristics in the Barcelona chair. True to the modernist tradition, the Barcelona used minimal amount of shapes and angles, and was made in a similarly frugal nature as it is entirely comprised of metal and steel. The frame of the chair was attached together with bolts, but this was discarded in 1950 in favor of stainless steel. Stainless steel enabled the chair’s frame to have a seamless and smoother appearance, and had the added benefit of being highly resistant to corrosion. Ivory-colored pigskin was also the original covering of the Barcelona, but it was later replaced by the now common black cow leather.

During the 1930s, the Barcelona chair was manufactured exclusively in United States and European countries, and Miens van der Rohe held several patents to the chair’s fundamental design and elements. But in 1953, shortly after the death of Lilly Reich, van der Rohe gave up his rights and name to the design. Today, the Barcelona is widely available as reproductions, with some companies featuring reproductions with van der Rohe’s licensed brand and signature affixed on them.