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Barcelona chair

by Mies van der Rohe
Label: Knoll

Year: 1929

The name of the Barcelona Chair stems from its debut at the Barcelona World Fair of 1929. Two examples of the chair were placed in the German Pavilion for King Alfonso III and the Empress Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg to rest on. These chairs were made with leather from goats. The design with the legs crossing and the leather cushions with refined finishing were groundbreaking at the time. Today, the chair still possesses a modern look, even though it is 80 years old now.

The chair is the result of a collaboration between Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and his companion and partner Lilly Reich. The design was inspired by the folding chairs of the Romans, a status symbol in those ancient days. Van der Rohe left for America in 1938. This is where he met Hans Knoll, who included the Barcelona Chair in his collection and sold it under the name MR-90.

The chrome cross-legged frame was re-designed in 1950, using stainless steel and seamless ground welding, which made the design look much smoother. The original upholstery was ivory coloured leather from pigs. In 1953, six years after the death of Reich, the chair was produced by Knoll as the ‘Model 250L Barcelona Chair’. Nowadays, Knoll still produces the chair in two types of steel: chrome and stainless steel. The chair is produced almost entirely by hand, still following the guidelines issued by Van der Rohe. The stitching of the cushions alone takes at least 45 hours of work. This is why design lovers have to pay dearly for the chair. A Barcelona Chair can easily cost 5000 euros. Accompanying the chair is the Barcelona Stool, a footstool of the same style. In addition, Knoll produces the Barcelona Day Bed, a cross between a bed and a chaise longue. Many reproductions have surfaced under different names. The only real Barcelona Chair can be recognised by a stamp with Van der Rohe’s signature at the bottom of the chair.