Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was born on 27th March 1886 in Aachen, Germany, and is not only remembered by history as a designer of Knoll's Barcelona chair, but also as an architect. His first modern and energy-efficient buildings originated from 1923, and in 1927 Mies van der Rohe was responsible for the curation of the Weissenhof Estate in Stuttgart, unquestionably one of modernisms genuine flagship projects. For his own apartment house on the Weissenhof Estate Mies van der Rohe made his first use of a steel frame, a construction principle which allowed for the enlargement of the window areas and a more variable use of the residential space, a construction principle which was to be fundamental in his later buildings. In addition to being commissioned to design the German Pavilion for the 1929 World Exhibition in Barcelona, Mies van der Rohe was also requested to design the furniture for the pavilion. The pavilion proved to be a main attraction of the World Exhibition and is now considered one of the most significant works of modern architectural history: equally so with the Barcelona Chair. Although his career in Germany was interpreted by the outbreak of war, he was able to continue with his success in America following his emigration in 1938.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was one of the most important architects and designers of modernism
The MR Chaise longue, a design classic by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
The Barcelona Chair is inextricably associated with the designer who designed it
The Barcelona Chair has always been one of furniture designs true classics
X-Base Chair An xpression; An xpansion; An xposition Whereas the English word 'furniture' has its origins in the middle French verb 'fournir', to furnish, the French 'meuble' and German 'Möbel' have their origins in the Latin 'mobile': capable of being moved...
...A 1927 building exhibition at which Mart Stam premiered his W1 and W2 the, by all accounts and as far as (hi)story has recorded, first cantilevered steel tube chairs and of which the Thonet S 33 that can be explored in Stühle zum (Be)Sitzen is a direct further development, not least in the fact it is not quite as rigid as the W1 and W2: not as formally rigid, is slightly softer, it curves a little more, than the uncompromisingly quadratic of the W1 and W2, and not as structurally rigid, is slightly softer, is more resilient in the sitting experience; a resilience that for all it is today a central feature of the cantilever chair wasn't at the forefront Stam's intentions with the W1 and W2, rather is a resilience which a Ludwig Mies van der Rohe brought to the cantilever, largely because he was extremely critical of, and unhappy with, Stam's design... A Thonet curving, flowing, billowing, organic, that can also be followed in the base of the 1929 Barcelona Chair by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Sergius Ruegenberg, the latter of whom famously, or not so famously, but which should be famously, shaped the seat, or at least began the process of shaping the seat, through sitting in the sand on a beach by way of approaching the required relationship between seat and backrest, albeit sat in the sand not on Barcelona Beach but on Wannsee Beach, on the southern edge of Berlin...
...20 Material such as the marble used for the vestibule staircase; a marble staircase which, according to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, had been his contribution to the Mannesmann-Haus21, for lest we forget, not only was Le Corbusier in Behrens' employ in the early years of the 20th century, but also Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies...
..."1 A statement that has in many regards come to define understandings of the furniture designs of both Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich... And a statement and understanding whose clarification not only provides an excellent starting point for an exploration of the furniture designs of Lilly Reich and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, but also for some reflections on the (hi)story of furniture design...
...What words can one find to honour the birthday of the German architect, designer and ex-Bauhaus Director Ludwig Mies van der Rohe?... The interviews were subsequently published in the American architecture magazine Pencil Points, the September 1935 edition featuring Nelson's portrait of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, or Miës van der Rohe as Nelson insists on referring to him...
