The face of Barcelona

Architect: Mies Van Der Rohe

Location: Barcelona, Spain

Project year: 1929

The Barcelona Pavilion was part of the International exposition which was held in the city of Barcelona, region Catalonia in the year 1929. About twenty European nations are believed to have formed part of this fair including the big nations such as Britain, Germany and Italy etc. The exposition is created to help the growth of the product and architectural industry, this exposition as one could notice lead to an urban change in the city of Barcelona developing architectural styles in the 20^th century. The Barcelona Pavilion was originally named German Pavilion, this was the face of German at the time of the First World War. Surpassing Germany’s modern culture that was still in the root of the classical history.

The Barcelona pavilion showed elegance and combined rich materials which showed a representation of architecture modernism. The design plan of the pavilion is purely based on grids which serve as a guideline to the people working the travine pavers, this also served as a repressed framework within. The real masterclass in this case would be the materials applied within the space as it represents what this pavilion really stands for pure elegance and sleek design.

Antoine Gaudi and Mies Van Der Rohe (Modernist vs Modernism)

Barcelona is a place where every corner of the city you’ll find a signature in design under Gaudi’s work, with works such as Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Casa Mila and more. With
Mies Architectural project Barcelona Pavilion putting him under the spotlight of the architectural industry, a shame one should say that Gaudi was killed 3 years before Mies made a huge impact under his name and for the city of Barcelona as well. 

Comparing contrasting work between Barcelona pavilion and Gaudi’s Palau Guell; The pavilion is a well detailed simple but elegant piece for architecture, as for Gaudi’s Palau Guell you’ll find a balance between medieval and a hint of Moorish design within the project. The difference between the two compared works are that Mies project took him a few months to build and spend some time developing the highly detailed structures within the space, Gaudi on the other hand took years to navigate his project with various artisans who contributed in the project.

Palau Guell. Gaudi

Mies showed the world that although it was the time of modernist that Gaudi’s work so much influenced the city, Mies tried to revolutionize the architectural elements within the city which in my opinion speaking only on his work he had accomplished that, by that being said it is impossible to revolutionize what Gaudi created throughout his career, the works that Gaudi left behind are the significate and the heart of Catalonia. 

We sit here almost 90 years have passed from then, in general I think that Mies work is more applicable to where we sit today. The Modernism style has won over Gaudi if one could see the whole picture, the fact that hand crafted materials and projects today are outdated and we seek more fast and effective manufacturing that is why I am concluding that in terms of the Modernism style Mies envisioned well what we are still trying to design till this date.

Gaudi's work Primary sources:

Bibliography: http://www.payette.com/post/2647604-modernista-and-modernism-in-barcelona-part

Modernista and Modernism in Barcelona, Part 2. 2017. Modernista and Modernism in Barcelona, Part 2. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.payette.com/post/2647604-modernista-and-modernism-in-barcelona-part. [Accessed 16 February 2017].

http://www.archdaily.com/109135/ad-classics-barcelona-pavilion-mies-van-der-rohe/54c6a195e58eced670000007-mies4-jpg

ArchDaily. 2017. Gallery of AD Classics: Barcelona Pavilion / Mies van der Rohe - 1 . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.archdaily.com/109135/ad-classics-barcelona-pavilion-mies-van-der-rohe/54c6a195e58eced670000007-mies4-jpg. [Accessed 16 February 2017].