One Chair, 12 Homes: Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Chair
Now a modernist classic, this sculptural seat is luxurious yet fuss-free and minimalist
Best known for his design statement, “Less is more”, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German architect and designer who espoused the modernist ideals especially to students of the Bauhaus School of Design, where he served as director in the early 1930s. Mies van der Rohe’s furniture pieces are as clean-lined, fuss-free and minimalist as his buildings and skyscrapers.
Mixing luxurious fabrics like leather with steel frames, he employed cantilevered surfaces to enhance a feeling of lightness and weightlessness. He is also famous for the Barcelona chair, an elegant armless leather and steel design whose legs formed a curved ‘X’, that was designed for the German Pavilion in the International Exposition held in Barcelona, Spain in 1929.
Mixing luxurious fabrics like leather with steel frames, he employed cantilevered surfaces to enhance a feeling of lightness and weightlessness. He is also famous for the Barcelona chair, an elegant armless leather and steel design whose legs formed a curved ‘X’, that was designed for the German Pavilion in the International Exposition held in Barcelona, Spain in 1929.
Photo by Scott Morris
Sophisticated in white in Manhattan
Barcelona chairs and daybed share a double-height space with equally iconic items: the Noguchi table and the New York skyline.
Sophisticated in white in Manhattan
Barcelona chairs and daybed share a double-height space with equally iconic items: the Noguchi table and the New York skyline.
Among classics in Knightsbridge
In this London, UK home, modernist style mixes with Victorian mouldings and antique furniture.
In this London, UK home, modernist style mixes with Victorian mouldings and antique furniture.
Photo by Alison Hammond Photography
Bringing the green inside in Islington
The rear extension in the lower ground level of this London, UK home is lower than the garden, so the Barcelona chair is a welcome pop of green drawing in the outdoor colour.
Bringing the green inside in Islington
The rear extension in the lower ground level of this London, UK home is lower than the garden, so the Barcelona chair is a welcome pop of green drawing in the outdoor colour.
Arty in Toronto
Notice how the criss-cross of the Barcelona chairs are echoed in the table base and lines of the painting in this Canadian loft?
Notice how the criss-cross of the Barcelona chairs are echoed in the table base and lines of the painting in this Canadian loft?
Photo by Sven Mainzer
Standing out in Hamburg
Contrasting beautifully with its older companions in this German home, the Barcelona infuses a modern, masculine flavour into this formal room.
Standing out in Hamburg
Contrasting beautifully with its older companions in this German home, the Barcelona infuses a modern, masculine flavour into this formal room.
Monochromatic in Singapore
Contrasting black and white enhance the drama of the Barcelona chair’s silhouette in this space-starved apartment.
Contrasting black and white enhance the drama of the Barcelona chair’s silhouette in this space-starved apartment.
Fitting into odd spaces in Paris
The low-slung Barcelona chairs help to maximise the sloped roof-wall in this apartment in France.
The low-slung Barcelona chairs help to maximise the sloped roof-wall in this apartment in France.
Photo by Alexander Kamachkin
Conversation starters in Moscow
There’s ample seating in this Russian home, despite its two-seater sofa – the armless Barcelona chair is easily shared by two people.
Conversation starters in Moscow
There’s ample seating in this Russian home, despite its two-seater sofa – the armless Barcelona chair is easily shared by two people.
Lounging lazily in Madrid
The angle of the backrest and the seat makes the Barcelona chair very comfortable to lounge in – and, when you’re sitting so lazily gazing out at the pool and the gorgeous view of this Spanish home, hard to get up from!
The angle of the backrest and the seat makes the Barcelona chair very comfortable to lounge in – and, when you’re sitting so lazily gazing out at the pool and the gorgeous view of this Spanish home, hard to get up from!
Photo by Christian Johansson
Stylishly small in Sweden
Squeeze in work and lounge functions into a bedroom with a compact study and a Barcelona chair, as this Scandinavian space demonstrates.
TELL US
If you were to buy a Barcelona chair, where in your home would you place it? Tell us in the Comments below. If you own one, we’d love to see photos!
MORE
One Chair, 10 Homes: The Statement-making Egg Chair
One Chair, 15 Homes: The Versatile Wishbone Chair
One Chair, 10 Homes: The Space-Agey Tulip Chair
Stylishly small in Sweden
Squeeze in work and lounge functions into a bedroom with a compact study and a Barcelona chair, as this Scandinavian space demonstrates.
TELL US
If you were to buy a Barcelona chair, where in your home would you place it? Tell us in the Comments below. If you own one, we’d love to see photos!
MORE
One Chair, 10 Homes: The Statement-making Egg Chair
One Chair, 15 Homes: The Versatile Wishbone Chair
One Chair, 10 Homes: The Space-Agey Tulip Chair
The Barcelona collection – chairs, footstool and daybed – are drenched in leaf-filtered sunlight in the Glass House, designed by one of the USA’s leading postmodern architects, Philip Johnson.