You’ve probably seen various movables on our site with the name “Barcelona” preceding the piece of furniture. This name does not signify our brand per se, it entails a larger body of work by Ludwig van der Rohe, a German-American designer who had produced these pieces after a critical event in the history of modern furniture design and city architecture: the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona, Spain.
This exposition was held for new urban development plans and architectural designs to herald in the modernism movement that quickly overtook the latter half of the 20th century. Both the furniture and architectural modernism designs that spanned from this exposition remain relevant today. This popularity largely involves designer van der Rohe’s contribution to this exposition. Firstly, not only did he design the signature Barcelona chair that was featured, but he designed the actual building that featured the exhibition itself.
Ludwig van der Rohe was a German-American architect who designed the Barcelona Pavilion, a building that showcased Germany’s designs in the 1929 International Exposition. Thus, this building is also dubbed as the German Pavilion. This building helped bring the modernist creation of a simple construction made of extravagant material to the forefront. The German Pavilion thereby inspired other important buildings such as the Capel Manor House in Kent, Britain which is regarded as one of Britain’s first pieces of implemented modernist architecture.
Getting back to furniture, the German Pavilion premiered van der Rohe’s preeminent Barcelona chair. This chair is most responsible for giving rise to van der Rohe’s international fame and status as the founding father of modernism. After the success of the Barcelona Chair, Mies van der Rohe went on to create a line of Barcelona products, such as the Barcelona Daybed, the Barcelona Ottoman and the Barcelona Table, all of which we supply excellent reproductions of here at Barcelona Designs. Check out more about each product here:
The Barcelona Chair:
The Barcelona Chair was a breakthrough in modern design that emanated a couch-like feel. Our reproduction has the same details as the original chair down to a science. It features an all-over leather composition in the seat and back, with a steel and chrome frame. The leather is 100% genuine Italian leather. It also holds true to the functionality of the original, being large and spacious, with cushioning throughout.
The Barcelona Daybed:
This stunning daybed is a great choice for mid-day lounging or sleeping. It exudes so much beauty and comfort while carrying a relatively simple design of a single mattress, welted and padded on the top, with fasteners that attach it to a strong steel frame. Simple, yet luxurious, a telling sign that this is a modernist daybed. It also comes with an elongated, horizontal that covers the bed’s width.
The Barcelona Ottoman:
The Barcelona Ottoman is a direct design match with the Barcelona Chair, featuring the same tufted leather body and chrome and steel frame. The legs are also assembled in an “X” shape at both sides as is the chair. This ottoman provides sizable room to sit or to use as support for your legs. If you opt for the latter, it’s best to pair the ottoman with the Barcelona chair. Soft, yet sturdy, this ottoman also works well as a holder of items you ran out of room to place.
The Barcelona Table:
This modernist table is perfect for any living room or hall. For the living room, it works great as a coffee table or as an additional buttress for your décor; think flower pots, frames, etc. For the hall, it’s a great ancillary item to place books, a landline phone, vases, etc. Staying true to modernism, this table has a simple design of a transparent, glass, rectangular top. It has four metallic legs that criss-cross, creating an “X” below the top, much like the legs of the Barcelona chair and ottoman. This table is a simple way to decorate a room with virtually any style or theme.