The Barcelona Sofa: A Timeless Icon of Furniture Design

Just think, a frequenter of offices, business centers, administration premises, private houses and apartments – the Barcelona sofa was invented as far back as 1929! Can you imagine what an innovation it was for that time? And although the model of this sofa has undergone some design changes, its elegant appearance remains relevant to this day. Let’s talk about this iconic piece of furniture and learn something interesting about it.

History of the creation.

The creator of the Barcelona sofa, the American architect Mies van der Rohe, designed it for the German pavilion of the International Exhibition in Barcelona. Initially, these were chairs on which the Spanish royal couple, Alfonso XIII and his wife, were supposed to sit. Therefore, the architect set out to create something monumental, worthy of royalty. And he succeeded fully. The graceful crossed legs of the sofa became a reference to the throne of the pharaohs. The seat was originally sewn from 148 pieces of leather (it’s even hard to imagine how painstaking this work was). Although the king and his wife never sat down to the sofa of Mies van der Rohe, his “creature” began its big life, which continues to this day.

Developmental milestones

As a home piece of furniture, the armchair begins life in 1930 – it appeared among the furnishings of Mies van der Rohe’s villa Tugendhat, built in Brno. 1948 is another significant date, when the detachable parts of the structure, connected by screws, became one-piece. It was in that year that the architect transferred the rights to produce his chair to Knoll. In the 1950s-1960s the Barcelona sofa is at the height of its popularity. Every more or less advanced company in the market tried to acquire this piece of furniture in order to decorate the waiting area in their offices.

Barcelona sofa here and now

Now it is still a status sofa that has retained its sophistication. After years it continues to be in demand in modern interiors, without losing popularity. It still looks great, demonstrating the great skill of its creator, who gave the world a universal piece of furniture.

On our website you can find sofas similar to the famous Barcelona model. You can purchase them and be sure of a reasonable price and excellent quality.