Mies van der Rohe Pavilion Chair

Mies Van der Rohe was born in Germany in 1886. At the age of 19 he moved to Berlin, and began working with the art nouveau architect and furniture designer Bruno Paul. Just a year later, he received his first commission for an architectural design for a local philosopher's home. Over the next 10 years he studied the works of Frank Lloyd Wright and Karl Friedrich Schinkel. By 1912, he had his own studio in Berlin.

In 1927 Mies Van der Rohe designed the German Pavilion at the International Exposition in Barcelona Spain. In it contained what was to become one of interior design's most famous chairs, the Pavilion Chair. The Pavilion had a flat roof supported by columns, while the interior was constructed of glass and marble. Mies Van der Rohe was Director of the Bauhaus School from 1930-1933. In 1937 he moved to Chicago where he became the Head of the architecture department at the Illinois institute of technology. During the next 15 years of his career, he designed skyscrapers for nearly every major American city. Mies van der Rohe designed the now famous Pavilion chair for the German Pavilion at the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition. Mies van der Rohe's original Pavilion chair used a frame of chromium-plated steel strips with horsehair cushions resting on thick belt leather straps. The steel strip design and 'x' joint had to be welded and polished by hand in a laborious operation. The Pavilion chair's intricate leatherwork used square tiles that were sewn together, then piped and buttoned.

Mies van der Rohe is generally recognized as one of the founding fathers of Modernism, and the most purist of Modern architects. His work is characterized by a constructional clarity, free-flowing space and careful detailing, in accordance with his famous maxim "less is more." Mies van der Rohe ranks as one of the most important twentieth-century designers based on his range of designs – from the functional simplicity of the cantilever chairs to the luxurious comfort of the Pavilion chair.

Made in Italy.  

Stocked in standard black leather.  Other colors available on custom order basis.

Dimensions: H 29 1/2" D 30" W 29 1/2"; SH 17"

Material: Chair with flat chrome frame upholstered in individual leather tiles that are sewn together with leather piping and leather upholstered buttons. Springing by means of hide straps.