○ Unique Houses
Mies van der Rohe pavilion
Av. de Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, 7 – Barcelona
The new modernity
The Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, located in the former site of the Barcelona International Exposition of 1929 in Montjuïc, is an essential building in the history of 20th century architecture and a key reference in European avant-garde architecture.
History
The current building, however, is not the original, which was dismantled after the International Exposition. The reconstruction of the pavilion took place in 1986, and was carried out by the architects Cristian Cirici, Fernando Ramos and Ignasi de Solà-Morales.
The German government appointsLudwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich artistic directors of the German section of the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition, to design the exhibition spaces of the industrial sections and the German pavilion. The pavilion was therefore intended to present the new Germany to the world. The building was conceived as a temporary construction to host the events of the Exposition, and the reception of King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia in particular. The pavilion is a porticoed structure on eight cruciform pillars. Features a continuous route around it, with no definite boundary between interior and exterior. It is elevated above a podium, more than a metre from the ground, giving the effect of a Roman temple.
Fundació Mies van der Rohe
The Fundació Mies van der Rohe was created in 1983 by the Barcelona City Council, with the initial aim of carrying out the reconstruction of the German pavilion designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich.
In 1981, Oriol Bohigas became the delegate of Urban Planning in the government of Pasqual Maragall and, despite many difficulties, commissioned an executive project on the pavilion. On June 2, 1986, the German pavilion of the Barcelona International Exhibition of 1929 was reopened. Currently, in addition to attending to the conservation and knowledge of the pavilion itself, the foundation fosters debate, dissemination and awareness on questions of contemporary architecture and urban planning. It also promotes the study of the work of Mies van der Rohe, Lilly Reich and the modernist movement. In line with these purposes, it carries out various activities, such as awards, congresses and conferences.
What will we visit?
We will visit the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, a capital building in the history of 20th century architecture and an obligatory reference in European Avant-garde architecture.