Knoll Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe - Barcelona® Relaxed Couch

Designed in 1930, the Barcelona Couch shares the same simple elegance as its iconic counterpart, exhibiting Mies van der Rohe's command of line and material in any medium, from architecture to furniture, which helped define the modern vocabulary.

A carefully studied "relaxed" cushion design brings greater comfort and a more residential feel to what remains the undisputed "monument" of design history. The Barcelona Relaxed Chair, Stool and Couch offer a more supple and relaxed exterior appearance and a softer seat.

MEASUREMENTS:

• Height: 63.5 cm / 25 inch


• Width: 99 cm / 39 inch


• Depth: 198 cm / 78 inch


• Seat Height: 38.9 cm / 15.3 inch

MATERIALS:

• 72 individual panels are cut, hand-welted and hand-tufted with leather and buttons produced from a single cowhide


• Cushions are premium quality, fire retardant, high-resiliency urethane foam with down-like dacron polyester fiberfill


• Upholstery straps are cowhide belting leather. Sides are dyed to match specified upholstery color. 17 straps are stretched over a rubber webbing for cushion support


• Bolster in matching leather is secured to cushion platform with straps and lock snaps


• Legs are polished tubular stainless steel


• Platform is a Sapele Mahogany from Africa, finished with a protective clear lacquer


• Stainless Steel: Completely rust-proof, highly durable, and resistant to bending stress. Light scratching blends with time

HELPFUL NOTES:

• The KnollStudio logo and signature of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe are stamped into each piece


• GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified®

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Germany, 1886 - 1969

Mies van der Rohe began his career in architecture in Berlin, working as an architect first in the studio of Bruno Paul and then, like Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, for Peter Behrens. In 1928, Mies and his companion and colleague, the designer and Bauhaus alumna Lilly Reich, were asked to design the German Pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona. The purpose of the Pavilion was to provide a location that could be visited by the king and queen of Spain during the opening of the Exposition. With that in mind, Mies designed a modern throne – known today as the Barcelona Chair – for their majesties. In the following year, Mies designed another notable chair, the Brno, with a gravity-defying cantilevered base.

In 1930, Mies succeeded Walter Gropius as the director of the Bauhaus, where he stayed until the school closed in 1933. In 1937, Mies emigrated to the United States, and a year later became the director of architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The rest of his career was devoted to promoting the modernist style of architecture in the U.S., resulting in rigorously modern buildings such as the Farnsworth House and the Seagram Building, designed with Philip Johnson.

The modern city, with its towers of glass and steel, can be at least in part attributed to the influence of architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Equally significant, if smaller in scale, is Mies’ daring furniture designs, pieces that exhibit an unerring sense of proportion, as well as minimalist forms and exquisitely refined details.

Shop all designs by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe