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There was an innovative new chair that burst upon the world of furniture design in 1929 that most of us have seen probably fairly recently at one point or another. This particular chair design that seems quite common now created quite a sensation at its unveiling and it became known at the Barcelona chair. That name is a reference to the Barcelona World's Fair where this sophisticated design was unveiled by its creators, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich. Its fascinating to see the rich influences of history and art movements that gave us the Barcelona chair which is now a design we frequently see used in many public venues such as waiting rooms, bus stations and elegant public areas of fine offices. When the two designers unveiled the Barcelona chair in the German Pavilion of the 1029 World's Fair, one wonders if they knew what a sensation it would be and how widespread it's popularity would reach in its own time and right down to our times as well. But with its grounding in ancient Roman design and it's unveiling by two German designers in Barcelona Spain, this chair truly became a chair that spans many cultures. The Barcelona chair or the Pavilion chair as it is also called because it was revealed at the German Pavilion at the World's Fair, went from an immediate sensation to become a genuine classic design style even today. Part of the reason that the Barcelona design has such a classical appeal is that it is a skillful blend of German design skills that combine a the more modern themes that dominated German culture at the time such as Bauhaus but the chair reflects a heritage of design that goes all the way back to the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt and some of the furniture designs of ancient Rome as well. At the time there was some significant need for this new chair to make the kind of splash that it did at the World's Fair in Barcelona. Germany had just come out of the first World War. The devastating loss of that conflict put German society into a mode of looking to regain some respect and stature in the world. It was for this reason that the German government put a lot of emphasis on what happened at that World's Fair in Barcelona because if it went well, that would contribute a great deal to the German feeling of national pride. Mies van der Rohe entered into this situation in which a lot was at stake for the success of Germany's participation in the World's Fair. In addition to the gamble he and Lilly Reich were taking with this bold new chair they had designed, Rohe was responsible for the German Pavilion itself which was more than just a booth at the carnival as we know it, it was nothing short of Germany's first attempt to gain world respect and admiration. So it was on Rohe's shoulders to put together a very successful display and the Barcelona chair became a centerpiece for that effort. The gamble that Rohe and Reich made of producing a design that pulled together very ancient design themes and combined them with very modern artistic concepts was nothing short of a smashing success. From the moment the international audience at the World's Fair in Barcelona saw this new design from the Germans, it was received enthusiastically. There probably could have been no better setting and no better audience to appreciate the real artistry and craftsmanship of the Barcelona chair. Before the fair was over, it was widely rumored that the Rohe and Riech's chair was a design approach to furniture that was "worthy of a king" which was high praise indeed. The Bauhaus design philosophy influenced art and design in almost every area of the humanities during this era or European history. It was a philosophy and encouraged sharing of design ideas between disciplines so architectural ideas would become part of furniture design as would be motifs in the traditional arts of painting and music. And in furniture design as Rohe and Reich envisioned it in the Barcelona chair, the piece would be of the highest quality and made to adorn the finest of elegant buildings and homes throughout Europe and America. To reach the level of quality that was needed to live up to the Bauhaus philosophy required a tremendous investment of materials and labor. The chair design calls for many tufts and buttons throughout the seat and back and that the fairly large cushions areas to be made of the finest of leathers. While the quality of design showed the chair off well at the Barcelona show, this made production an expensive operation which limited the exposure that the chair could have if it went into broad distribution. And the popularity of the chair certainly would have justified finding ways to get the Barcelona chair into wider markets at the time. Its easy to look back at eras such as we see here where a phenomenal chair design took the furniture fashion world by storm. And the Barcelona chair certainly lived up to that expectation. But its quite another thing when that design becomes a de facto standard for many interior decorators in this modern age and for a chair design to last for this many decades and still be very stylish, very much in demand and continuously current. But that is the unique thing about the Barcelona chair. It literally never seems to go out of style. Today manufacturing and distribution of the Barcelona design is primarily handled to the Knoll Corporation who purchased the design and the trademark to produce and sell the design in America. And it is easy to see the influence of the design in many similar chairs that come somewhere between borrowing and being influenced by the innovative design of Rohe and Reich and outright copying of the chair. Whatever the means, the fact remains that this was a phenomenal design achievement and knowing the background and history of the Barcelona or Pavilion Chair only adds to our enjoyment of this fine piece of furniture.
Article Source: http://www.articlemetropolis.com
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