Barcelona chair, modern chair, modern furniture, Ludwig mies van der rohe

1. INTERIOR DESIGN
Ludwig mies van der rohe
PRESENTED BY-
GROUP MEMEBRS
ANUSHA ROY
AIMAN NASEEM
SUNDUS HUSSAIN
JOMAN SARDAR
ABDUL NOOR
M.RAGHIB
HAMZAH

2. CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. TIMELINE
3. MAJOR WORKS
4. PHILOSPHIES
5. BRNO CHAIR
6. BARCELONA CHAIR
7. TUGENDHAT ARMCHAIR
8. BARCELONA COUCH
9. FARNSWORTH HOUSE
10. SOURCES

3. Ludwig mies van der rohe
(March 27, 1886 – August 17, 1969)
 He was a German-American architect who created
innovative designs that involved materials and
methods of construction from modern technology
available at his time.
 By emphasizing open space and revealing the
industrial materials used in construction, he helped
define modern architecture.
 He is widely acknowledged as one of the 20th century
‘s greatest architects.
 Widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters
of modern architecture
 Designed skyscrapers of steel and glass which
became models of skyscraper design throughout
the world.
 Modern architecture is generally characterized by
simplification of form and creation of ornament from
the structure and theme of the building.

4. 1886 Born on March 27, in Aachen, Germany.
1908-1911 he worked for Peter Behrens.
1905-1907 Moved to Berlin and worked for Bruno Paul (the art nouveau architect and furniture designer).
1906 received his first independent comission to plan a house for a philospher- Alois reihl
1927 Mies designed one of his famous building Barcelona pavillion.
1929 Designed furnitures-Barcelona chair,Tugendhat chair & Barcelona couch.
1930 Designed Tugendhat house.
1930-1931 appointed as a director of Bauhaus school of design.
1938 moved to United states and (1938-1958) was head of the architecture department at the
armour institute of technology in chicago.
1958 he designed the Seagram building-a masterpiece of skyscraper design.
1951 he continued to develop this concept of open, flexible space on a much larger scale &
designed Farnsworth house and 860-880 lake shore drive.
1969 he died in chicago on august 17.
TIMELINE

5. HIS MAJOR WORKS
• German pavilion Barcelona 1929
• Tugendhat house 1930
• ILLINOIS INSTITUE OF TECHNOLOGY
MASTER, CHICAGO 1939-1958
• Farnsworth House 1946-1951
• Lake shore drive apartments Illinois
1948-51
• Crown hall- 1956
• Seagram building NY, US 1958
• Toronto Dominion Centre- 1969

6. PHILOSOPHY
•Mies believed in designing the space according to form follows the
function.
• Believed in extreme clarity and simplicity.
•He introduced steel and glass as design elements in his buildings
•His works introduced a new level of simplicity and transparency, and his
buildings were often referred to as “skin-and-bones” architecture for
their emphasis on steel structure and glass enclosure.
• one of his famous quote, "less is more“
he enlisted every element and detail to serve multiple visual and
functional.
•He created radical and conservative structures: radical because his
constructions reflected scientific and technological character and
conservative because they were based on the external laws of
architecture- ‘ Order, Space and Proportions’.
•Mies believed that buildings should be designed with the least amount
of fixed elements so as to be as flexible as possible and ready to adapt as
their functional requirements change over time.

7. To strip down extra and unwanted
material.
• Focus :
– Form
– Light
– Space
– Details of material: Reveals the
inner qualities of materials and
objects, apart from aesthetic
value.
• Conveying the message of
simplicity:
– Basic geometric forms
– Elements without decoration
Theory of minimalism

8. 1 OF 5 BRNO CHAIR

9. BRNO CHAIR
• The Brno chair is a cantilever chair designed by Ludwig Mies van
der Rohe and Lilly Reich in 1929-1930 for the bedroom of
the Tugendhat House in Brno, Czech Republic.
• A mix of traditional fabrics like leather combined with
modern chrome frames, and a of the
supporting structure and the supported surfaces, often
employing
created by delicate structural frames.
• It has very , consisting of a
, bent into a C-shape from the middle of the back, round
past the front edge of seat (to create arms), and back under the
seat to create a cantilever, with seat and back padded in leather.
• There are two versions of the chair, one in tubular steel and the
other in flat steel.
• The metal was originally polished stainless steel, some modern
examples are chrome plated.
• Design elements convey the message of simplicity. The basic
geometric forms, elements without decoration, simple materials.
Retail price of current configuration: $1919
flat steel
tubular steel

10. • Much greater strength is achieved in this
design visually and physically by the use of
for the frame.
• The fact that the frame disappears behind the
shallow padded element leaving the leg / arm
lines, the only visible support, gives the chair a
more .
• The seat and back are firmly held in relation to
one another and
.
• The that have been recently
added to the design.

11. BRNO CHAIR - FLAT BAR
• Width: 22 ¾“ Seat Height: 17 ½"
• Depth: 22 ½“ Arm Height: 25 ¾"
• Height: 31 ½"
Dimensions
MATERIALS
• Frame is polished chrome-plated steel
• No visible connections between seat and frame
• Seat has an inner hardwood frame cushioned
with variable density foam.

12. 2 OF 5 BARCELONA CHAIR

13.  Forty separated cut panels joined by narrow hand-sewn welts , the
leather straps are held on by 72 screws each tapped and screwed
into metal frame through the ends of the straps , the stainless steel
frame is all electric arc welded , hand finished and polished to a
perfect mirror finish.
 Apart from some machine sewing and the extruded steel section ,
the chair is almost entirely hand made which explains its high
purchasing price.
 Cotton and burlap and horsehair filling replaced by foam rubber for
cushions. And chromed steel has been replaced by polish stainless
steel.
 ‘’Inside is outside is inside’’ : the
concept of an intermingling of
exterior world and interior space .
Material and layout of seating and
the view of the environment
converge (almost as a precursor to
‘’virtual reality’’.Mies van der Rohe
:Lake Shore Drive Apartments ,
Chicago 1948-51 .
Book : WEST MEETS EAST MIES VAN DER ROHE , Writer : WERNER BLASER
Construction :

14.  The functional design and elements of it that were patented by Mies in Germany, Spain and the United States in the 1930s
have since expired . The Barcelona chair was manufactured in the US and Europe in limited production from the 1930s to
the 1950s.
In 1953, Mies ceded his rights and his name on the design to Knoll, knowing that his design patents were expired. This
collaboration then renewed popularity in the design.
 In 1965, Knoll purchased the trademark rights to the Barcelona word from
Drexel.
 In 2004, Knoll received trade dress rights to the design from the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office. Despite these trademarks, a large replica market
continues. Gordon International New York has continued to manufacture
the designs since the 1970s, even after a court battle against Knoll in 2005.
CURRENT PRODUCTION :
PHILOSOPHY :
The form is thought to be extrapolated from Roman folding chairs known as the Curule chair – upholstered stools used
by Roman aristocracy . It has beautiful formal balance , clarity and simplicity , he was always concerned with expressing
the spirit of the modern era.
 Since 1953 Knoll has manufactured the chair. They make the frame in two
different steel configurations, chrome and stainless. The chair is almost
completely hand-laboured, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's signature is
stamped into each chair. Reproductions proliferate worldwide and are sold
under different marketing names.

15. 3 OF 5 TUGENDHAT ARMCHAIR

16. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Tugendhat armchair
Knoll
designed 1929; this chair produced after 1948
Model no. MR 70
Leather and steel
34″h x 27.5″w x 25″d
Estimate $5,000 – 7,000
June 26, 2011 Auction
Seeking to make a comfortable lounge chair
that maintained the restraint of his minimalist
aesthetic, mies arrived at the tugendhat.
The Tugendhat chair is a modernist cantilever
chair designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in
collaboration with Lilly Reich 1929-1930 for
the Tugendhat House in Brno,Czechoslovakia.

17. • In appearance, the Tugendhat chair is
somewhat of a hybrid of Mies van der
Rohe’s 1929 Barcelona chair and 1929-1930
Brno chair.
• Like the Barcelona chair, the Tugendhat
chair has a large padded leather seat and
back, supported by leather straps mounted
on a steel frame and legs.
• However, like one variant of the Brno chair,
the frame is flat solid steel, formed under
into a C-shape under the seat to create a
cantilever.
• Versions exist with or without leather-
padded steel arms. The metal was originally
polished stainless steel; modern examples
are often chrome-plated.
• “We realized that we were dealing with a
genuine artist. Grete and Fritz said, for
example, that the ideal dimensions of space
cannot be calculated, space must be felt.”

18.  Designer : Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
 Date : 1929
 Style / tradition : Modernist
 Designed for German government pavilion for the
Barcelona international exhibition of 1929.
DESIGN :
Frame was initially designed to be bolted together, but was
redesigned in 1950 using stainless steel, which allowed the
frame to be formed by a seamless piece of metal, giving it a
smoother appearance.
 ‘Clarity’ is evident in the design principles of the chair.
 ‘Honesty’ ,‘Simplicity’ and elegance is demonstrated in the
use of materials, which are suited to their applications:
Material: chrome-plated steel bar, leather belts, kid leather
cushions .
 The seat and back, by contrast, appear to be loosely
attached to the frame. Uplifted enough, as it were, to be a
suitable seat for a king.
Size: 75 x 76 x 77;
seat height 43 cms
BARCELONA CHAIR
Front
elevation
Side
elevation
Plan
 Unusual form: supported by a slender, shimmering base that has little in
common with the four legs of a conventional chair .
 Mies’ design is consequently based on considerations of structure and
material. His chair conforms to the criteria of New Objectivity. Another
striking feature is the chair’s similarity to folding stools or scissor chairs
used as thrones in ancient Egypt and other cultures of antiquity.

19. 4 OF 5 BARCELONA COUCH

20. Design Mies van der Rohe
1929
Barcelona Couch

21. BARCELONA COUCH WITH BLACK STRAPS
• Created by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for the
German Pavilion at the 1929 Barcelona Exposition
• The Barcelona couch features the pure
compositional structure that now epitomizes (be a
perfect example) Modern architecture.
• From the hand-buffed (leather with a velvety surface) frame
to the individual leather squares carefully welted
together, each Barcelona sofa is a tribute to
traditional craftsmanship and meticulous attention
to detail.
• The couch gained widespread popularity in 1953,
when architect Philp Johnson selected it for his
New York apartment.
Design Mies
van der Rohe

22. MATERIALS & SPECIFICATIONS
The Barcelona couch features an African Ramin
(this wood has significant commercial value and is used to make
products such as furniture, toys, broom handles) hardwood
frame with protective, clear lacquer (coloured wood
finish) finish.
72 individual panels are cut, hand-welted and
hand-tufted with leather and buttons produced
from a single cowhide (natural, unbleached skin and hair of a
cow)
simple
elegance
unprecedented
(never done or known before.)
masterful proportioning
and planning
“less is more”-clarity and simplicity

23. To create the Deep &
precise tufting 
• Individual leather panels are cut,
• hand-welted and hand-tufted, and
• panels and buttons are crafted from
a single hide.
 Legs are constructed of tubular steel
with polished stainless steel finish.
 The bolster (a long, thick pillow) cushion is
crafted from coordinating leather
and secured to the couch with
straps and locking snaps.
 Cushions are premium quality, fire
retardant, high-resiliency urethane
foam.
spirit of the modern era
clarity and simplicity

24. PRICES AND DETAILS
• Knoll is the only authorized and licensed manufacturer of
the Barcelona Collection since 1953.
• Mies van der Rohe's signature is stamped into the frame
of each piece to guarantee authenticity.
• The Barcelona Couch is a registered trademark of Knoll,
Inc., manufactured by Knoll according to the original and
exacting specifications of the designer. Made in U.S.A
$9,487.00 = 59,399,16 INR (http://www.knoll.com/product/barcelona-couch)
= 89,603 euros
= 34,8943 dirhams

25. 5 OF 5 MIES VAN DER
ROHE’S FARNSWORTH
HOUSE

26. MIES VAN DER ROHE’S FARNSWORTH HOUSE
southwest of Chicago's downtown

27. FARNSWORTH HOUSE
An exemplary representation of both the
International Style of architecture as well as
the modern movement’s desire
to
1. Juxtapose the sleek, (place side by side to create
contrast)
2. Streamline design of Modern structure,
with the organic environment of the
surrounding nature.
It’s a testament of simplicity in that
everything has been stripped back and
distilled(to extract) to it’s very essence, the very
least that it could be.
Nothing is for show, nothing superfluous or
extraneous.
The forms and shapes are seamless; the glass
is a solid band, uninterrupted as it contains
the entire living space, with the beams set to
the exterior.
Fearless design
Seems simple
Architecture as an expression

28. Three distinct spaces
1. A transparent house
2. A covered terrace
3. An open deck
It looks like 2 parallel planes held in suspension
between the earth and sky by only 8 steel columns
one of the most minimalist houses ever designed

29. The floor plan is completely open exploiting true minimalism.
The I-beams of the Farnsworth house are both structural and expressive.

30. Shading and privacy through the trees around
Mie’s explained this concept in an interview about the glass pavilion stating, “ nature, too shall live
its own life. We must beware not to disrupt it with the colour of our houses and interior fittings. Yet
we should attempt to bring nature, houses and human beings together into a higher unity.”

31. Minimalist expression of
structure and space
2 parallel planes
8 steel columns

32. MIES VAN DER ROHE’S FARNSWORTH HOUSE

33. SOURCES
• BOOKS:
• THE MODERN CHAIR by Clement Meadmore published by
Dover publication Inc , Mineola New York in 1997
• WEBSITES:
• http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/quick-history-mies-van-
der-roh-141158
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brno_chair
• http://www.knoll.com/product/brno-chair-flat-bar
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Mies_van_der_Rohe
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_chair
• http://www.design-museum.de/en/collection/100-
masterpieces/detailseiten/mr-90-barcelona-sessel-ludwig-
mies-van-der-rohe.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Mies_van_der_Rohe#Fu
rniture
• Book : WEST MEETS EAST MIES VAN DER ROHE , Writer :
WERNER BLASER