The Barcelona chair was designed in 1929 for the German Pavilion at the American Exposition in Barcelona Spain, by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe the father of modern architecture. An icon of modernism an furniture art the chair design was inspired by the campaign and folding chairs of ancient times.

The chair was shown off perfectly in the German Pavilion setting, it is said that Royal visitors did not actually take advantage of this newly designed seating accommodations, but the chair quickly attained the reputation of being ” a design worthy of Kings”.

The frame was initially designed to be bolted together, but was redesigned in 1950 using stainless steel which allowed the frame to be formed in one seamless casting, giving it a more smoother appearance.  Bovine leather replaced the ivory colored pigskin which was used for the original chair.

The Barcelona chair was manufactured in the USA by Knoll since 1953. The chair is a classic design an still sales very well world wide. This classic accent chair remains time less in its design and function.

By Chuck Mettler
Furniture Artist, Fan of Art Chairs, Lover of the Barcelona