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An investigation into an early design of the Barcelona Pavilion

2024-05-29T20:24:00-04:00

Really, the differences between the plan and the final construction are not great. Then again, I make this tentative conclusion, that our salvation depends on attention to small things, to what lies obvious before us, once seen clearly, felt within, once absorbed. Mies said similar.

Gary Garvin, a name familiar to many Archinectors, delves into the lesser-known early design phase (Plan I) of Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion. This study highlights the architectural and conceptual distinctions between the initial plan and the final structure. Garvin’s detailed analysis provides insights into Mies’s design philosophy and the modernist principles that influenced the Pavilion’s evolution.

Garvin begins by outlining the key differences between Plan I and the completed Pavilion. He notes how the initial design featured more pronounced structural elements, which were later refined to create the iconic open and fluid spaces of the final version. Garvin emphasizes Mies’s intent to balance form and function, highlighting how these early designs reflect the architect’s experimentation with spatial concepts.

The investigation delves into the philosophical underpinnings of Mies’s work, discussing his commitment to the principles of modernism, such as minimalism, the us...

Fundació Mies van der Rohe launches 2nd Lilly Reich Grant for Equality In Architecture

2020-06-17T12:15:00-04:00

Marking the 135th anniversary of the birth of German designer Lily Reich, Fundació Mies van der Rohe presents its 2nd edition of the Lily Reich Grant for Equality In Architecture. Reich was Mies van der Rohe's close collaborator for many years and was a key player in the conception and execution of the Barcelona Pavilion and other projects. However, her legacy has historically been forgotten, overshadowed, and even non-existent.

This grant aims to promote the study of contributions to architecture that have been forgotten or suppressed as a result of discrimination. The grant also seeks to promote equal access to the practice of architecture as a whole.

This year's grant also includes a section for senior high school student research project centered around the same theme of equality and inclusivity. "We are thrilled to present the new call of the Lilly Reich Grant for equality in architecture, and we are especially happy to include the teenage community in this fight for equality t...

Designer Sabine Marcelis channels Mies van der Rohe's use of glass as inspiration for her exhibition in Barcelona

2020-01-06T12:30:00-05:00

Rotterdam-based designer Sabine Marcelis creates a visually mesmerizing exhibition playing with glass and its material capabilities in No Fear of Glass. Currently exhibited at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, Sabine sought to create pieces in response to a request made to Mies during the construction of his 1929 German Pavilion.

No Fear of Glass. Image © Jose Hevia

According to a press statement from the exhibition, Mies was asked to "not use too much glass." For this special exhibition, Marcelis uses the material in ways that push its materiality and structural composition. Marcelis creates two large, curved, chaise, glass lounge pieces with tints of vibrantly fading color. A single glass sheet is inserted into solid travertine pieces that support the glass in place. In addition to the lounge pieces, the pavilion is filled with chrome columns, a mirrored-glass column, and a curved glass fountain loc...

Mies as Muse

2019-07-10T19:48:00-04:00

While the work of modern masters will always lurk in the shadows of contemporary design, few have been imitated or referenced as frequently as the German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. His material palette and deceptively simple methods of spatial organization indirectly inspired subsequent generations of artists and architects to treat the architect's body of work as a blank canvas onto which they can individually project their own creative identities.

Almost Nothing, by Christian Bjone. Published by Park Books.

"Out of all the architects to use as a focus and collector of artist interests," author and architect Christian Bjone writes in his newest book, "Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is a lightning rod. His work, writings, teaching, students, and personal mythology lay waiting for a response from the worshipful, visually curious, obsessive and angry."

The title of Bjone's book, Almost Nothing, is a phrase often used to describe the products of Mies' labor: the nearly complete red...