Barcelona chair
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The Barcelona chair is a chair designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> for the German Pavilion at the International Exposition of 1929, hosted in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Knoll Inc. has manufactured the chair since 1964, although the chair was not known as the Barcelona chair until 1987, when Knoll named the chair based on its resemblance to furniture used at the German Pavilion.<ref name="Martin n858">Template:Cite web</ref>
Materials and manufacture
The frame was initially designed to be bolted together, but was redesigned in 1950 using stainless steel, which allowed the frame to be formed with a seamless piece of metal, giving it a smoother appearance. Bovine leather replaced the ivory-colored pigskin, which was used for the original pieces.
Philosophy and ergonomics
Although many architects and furniture designers of the Bauhaus era were intent on providing well-designed homes and impeccably manufactured furnishings for common people, the Barcelona chair was an exception. It was designed for Spanish royalty to oversee the opening ceremonies of the exhibition and was described by Time magazine as inhabiting a "sumptuous German pavilion."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The form is thought to be extrapolated from Roman folding chairs known as the Curule chair Template:Ndash upholstered stools used by the Roman aristocracy. According to Knoll Inc., despite its industrial appearance, the Barcelona chair requires much handcrafting.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref>
Current production
Since 1964, Knoll Inc has manufactured the Barcelona chair in both chrome and stainless steel.<ref name="Martin n858" /> The chairs are almost entirely handcrafted,<ref name="auto"/> and each carries a facsimile of van der Rohe's signature, stamped into its frame.Template:CN
Unlicensed replicas of the original design are manufactured by other companies worldwide and sold under various marketing names. Such designs are frequently subject to legal challenges.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In popular culture
In his 1981 book about modern architecture, From Bauhaus to Our House, Tom Wolfe called the Barcelona chair as "the Platonic ideal of the chair", and wrote that, despite its high price, owning one had become a necessity for young architects: "When you saw the holy object on the sisal rug, you knew you were in a household where a fledgling architect and his young wife had sacrificed everything to bring the symbol of the godly mission into their home."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
- Barcelona Pavilion
- Bauhaus
- List of chairs
- List of furniture designers
- Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
- X-chair
References
External links
- Fundació Mies van der Rohe
- Barcelona Chair in ARCHIVEofOBJECTS.net
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