Student’s Name:
_________________
Student Number:
_________________
Dublin Institute of Technology
Faculty of the Engineering and Built Environment
School of Construction
Dept. of Construction Skills
Bachelor of Technology in Timber Product Technology
Course Code:
DT169
Academic Year: 2013/2014
Semester: 2
Module: Principles of Furniture Design & Joinery Design
Lecturer: Jennifer Byrne
Year: Second Year
I declare that the work contained in this submission is my own work and
has not been taken from the work of others save to the extent that such
work has been cited within the text of this submission.
Signed:__________________
Date:____________________
Table of contents
Page 2:
Work History
The Riehl House
The Tugendhat chair
Page 3:
Work History continued
The Barcelona Pavillion
The Barcelona Chair
Page 4:
Work History continued
The Barcelona couch
The Brno Chair
Bauhaus
Page 5:
Work History continued
Bauhaus
ITT
Page 6:
My Opinion
Word count 1370
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Work history
Mies van der Rohe born in 1886 in Aachen Germany spent the first half of his career
as an architect doing mainly residential buildings. Just as Mies turned 20 he received
his first Independent commission the Riehl house, the couple looking to build the
house were looking for an up and coming architect with talent rather than an
architect that had already established himself with a career and reputation. Mies fit
the description perfectly, his designs for the Riehl house were influenced greatly by
his employer at the time architect and furniture maker Bruno Paul.
The Riehl House
Mies became became known for living and being a leading figure in the avant-garde
life, meaning he favored and often implemented the introduction of new or
experimental ideas and methods in to his work often greatly influencing his designs.
The Tugendhat chair which Mies designed in collaboration with Lily Reich an interior
designer for the Tugendhat house in Brno in 1929 became the first of his designs to
be later mass produced, very similar to the famous Barcelona chair the Tugendhat
chair lacked the elegant curves but had the sleek looking cantilever often associated
with his furniture.
The Tugendhat chair
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He became well known throughout Europe for his innovative designs the most
famous of which at the time was the Barcelona Pavillion which Mies and his
colleague Lily Reich were selected to design for the Barcelona international
exposition of 1929.
.
The Barcelona / German Pavillion
The purpose of the Pavillion was to provide a location that could be visited by the
Spanish king and queen during the opening of the exposition. To include along with
the Pavillion Mies designed what he refereed to as a modern throne for the king, the
Barcelona chair the chair is supported on each side by two flat steel bars, seen from
the side a single curve the support for the chairs back and the chairs front legs are
created while crossing the S shaped bar acting as the chair support and the back legs
Barcelona Chair
Although the modernest movement in relation to the furniture industry was largely
about producing furniture for the common man the Barcelona chair was different it
was designed for royalty, this was reflected in the design but still managed to keep the
modern sleek look. Many of the buildings Mies designed were open plan minimalist
rooms the Barcelona Pavillion included, because of this Mies wanted his furniture to
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appear as if it was taking up as little space as possible this is where the polished steel
(later stainless steer 1950) came into play, in contrast to the reflective marble floors
and large glass panels Mies often used in his designs the chair legs were difficult to
see thus giving the chair the appearance it is floating. Even when not in a Mies van
der Rohe building this effect is achieved as the eye is drawn to the luxurious yet stern
cushions forming the seat and chair back. Shortly after both Mies and Lily
collaborated once again to create the Barcelona couch similar to the chair in both its
cushion pattern and its elegant curved polished steel. The Barcelona chair and couch
was later and still is being mass produced the patent is currently held by knoll but has
been held by many people and companies since Mies originally patented it. it is often
still seen in many office buildings and places of business and even in some modernest
homes.
In 1930 Mies again working with Lily Reich designed the modernest cantilever chair
known as the Brno chair or MR50 for the bedroom of the Tugendhat house in the c
Czech republic city of Brno.
The Brno Chair
Having gained recognition as an innovative architect in 1930 Mies was named as the
new director of the Bauhaus the innovative school of art and design which at the time
was located in Dessau Germany. Mies immediately began interviewing every student
expelling those he considered uncommitted. Later that year Mies employed Lily
Reich to teach alongside him at the Bauhaus. In 1931 the nationalist german social
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workers gained control of Dessau city council and moved to close the Bauhaus. In late
1932 Mies rented a abandoned factory in Berlin to use as the new Bauhaus which he
was paying for with his own money both staff and students came together to refurbish
the building painting the interior white 10 months later in 1933 the Nazi's Gestapo
came and closed the Bauhaus down calling it un-german. Mies fought the decision
eventually speaking to the head of the gestapo who allowed Mies to reopen the
Bauhaus but shortly after receiving permission to reopen Mies and other employees
agreed to close the school voluntarily. For the next few years Mies designed/built
very little as commissioned work in Germany was dwindling so in 1937 Mies
reluctantly moved America at first taking a commission in Wyoming and later that
year accepted a position as head of the department of Architecture at the Amor
institute of technology in Chicago which in 1940 jointed together with the lewis
institute to create the Illinois institute of technology. A problem arose the Amor
campus wasn't big enough to accommodate both schools so Mies was given the task
of creating a 120 acre campus. This made Mies the first architect in over 100 years to
design an entire American college campus singlehandedly. The campus Mies
designed perfectly represented what was being taught there, implementation of open
spaces large glass walls and sleek modern curves all made with the newest of
materials and methods the campus itself was a wonder of design.
Front entrance of ITT.
20 years later in 1958 Mies resigned his position as head of architecture at the age of
72. One year later Mies was awarded the royal institute of British Architects gold
medal and the following year he received the highest award the American association
of architects can give the AIA gold medal.
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My Opinion
Although Mies van der Rohe wasn't a furniture designer by trade his designs are
iconic because of the way he implemented the material such as bending thin lengths
of polished steel into elegant curves to support his creations such as the Barcelona
chair. Being an architect he had a great understanding of structural supports and to
what extent he could push his designs in such a way that they looked as if they floated
when looked at from a certain perspective. I believe that without this level of
knowledge and thought being put into all of his designs the world today would be
missing many iconic buildings and pieces of furniture. I have had first hand
experience sitting in both the Barcelona chair and on the Brno chair i can confidently
say both are exceptionally comfortable and look spectacular i think they cannot be
properly viewed through a picture because when standing directly in front of these
pieces the eye is instantly drawn to to certain parts when viewing it from the front or
sides. The cantilever of the Brno gives the feeling that you are sitting on a floating
chair because the legs are out of view. While sitting on the Barcelona chair it felt as
though the legs would flex as i sat down but they remained rigid, the cushions were
soft and the lengths of fabric stretching between the polished steel bars provided the
perfect support for the cushion. Ergonomically both of the chairs were well
proportioned both allowing ample back support and room for peoples legs to stretch.
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