Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe for Knoll

LUDWIG MIES VAN DER ROHE (Germany, 1886 - USA, 1969) for KNOLL.
Sofa-bed "Barcelona", design 1929 (Universal Exposition of Barcelona).
Chromed stainless steel and Cognac leather upholstery.
African ramin wood frame.
Leather-covered cushion sewn with buttons and chains.
Includes matching neck pillow.
Certified by Knoll International.
Original packaging. Brand new.
Reproduced and reviewed in "Charlotte & Peter Fiell. 1000 Chairs", p. 133.
Measurements: 41 x 195 x 95 cm. 226x103 cm. (packing).

The Barcelona sofa bed is a classic work of 20th century industrial design. Mies van der Rohe created it, along with the matching chair and side table, for the German pavilion at the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, a building that was itself a landmark in the architecture of the last century. Like the chairs, the ottoman was made with a polished stainless steel frame and leather upholstery. Rohe based its creation, in his personal line of modern classicism, on furniture used by Roman magistrates in antiquity. Today, both the Barcelona chair and the matching ottoman and side table are still produced by Knoll, the firm that bought the license from the architect in 1953. Modern models are produced in two different steel configurations, and in various types of leather in different colors. Examples of the Barcelona chair are now held in important collections around the world, including the MoMA in New York.
An architect and industrial designer, Mies van der Rohe trained with Bruno Paul and Peter Behrens, and opened his own studio in Berlin in 1912. Between 1930 and 1933 he directed the Bauhaus in Dessau, although the political situation in Germany soon after forced him to emigrate to the United States. There he continued his brilliant career, teaching at the Illinois Technology Institute in Chicago. During his career he designed emblematic buildings mainly in Germany and the United States, especially his skyscrapers in New York and Chicago, the German Pavilion for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, and the NeueNationalgalerie in Berlin.