Mies van der Rohe Pavilion

Mies van der Rohe Pavilion Review

One of the architectural masterpieces of the Bauhaus School, the legendary Pavelló Mies van der Rohe—the German contribution to the 1929 International Exhibition, reassembled between 1983 and 1986—remains a stunning "less is more" study in interlocking planes of white marble, green onyx, and glass. In effect, it is Barcelona's aesthetic antonym (possibly in company with Richard Meier's Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Rafael Moneo's Auditori, and the Mediterranean Gothic Santa Maria del Mar) to the hyper-Art Nouveau Palau de la Música and the city's myriad Gaudí spectaculars. Don't fail to note the matching patterns in the green onyx panels or the mirror play of the black carpet inside the pavilion with the reflecting pool outside, or the iconic Barcelona chair designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969); reproductions of the chair have graced modern interiors around the world for decades.