Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the Barcelona chair in 1929 for the German Pavilion at the Barcelona International Exposition — a chair fit for royalty, literally. He needed seating worthy of the King and Queen of Spain. Nearly a century later it remains one of the most recognized furniture designs ever made, still in production, still copied endlessly.
This pair is something rarer than a typical vintage example: documented architectural provenance. These chairs were specified for the McGregor Memorial Conference Center at Wayne State University in Detroit, designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki with interiors by Florence Knoll — one of the defining American campus buildings of the postwar era, completed in 1958. Florence Knoll didn't specify furniture casually. Every piece in a Knoll interior was considered.
Stainless steel frames, black leather upholstery, c. 1960 Knoll Associates production. The chairs retain their original presence — the kind that comes from age and serious use in a serious building.
Provenance: McGregor Memorial Conference Center, Wayne State University, Detroit · Private Collection
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe · Knoll Associates Germany/USA · designed 1929, produced c. 1960 Leather upholstery, stainless steel 30"h × 30"w × 29"d · Pair
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the Barcelona chair in 1929 for the German Pavilion at the Barcelona International Exposition — a chair fit for royalty, literally. He needed seating worthy of the King and Queen of Spain. Nearly a century later it remains one of the most recognized furniture designs ever made, still in production, still copied endlessly.
This pair is something rarer than a typical vintage example: documented architectural provenance. These chairs were specified for the McGregor Memorial Conference Center at Wayne State University in Detroit, designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki with interiors by Florence Knoll — one of the defining American campus buildings of the postwar era, completed in 1958. Florence Knoll didn't specify furniture casually. Every piece in a Knoll interior was considered.
Stainless steel frames, black leather upholstery, c. 1960 Knoll Associates production. The chairs retain their original presence — the kind that comes from age and serious use in a serious building.
Provenance: McGregor Memorial Conference Center, Wayne State University, Detroit · Private Collection
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe · Knoll Associates Germany/USA · designed 1929, produced c. 1960 Leather upholstery, stainless steel 30"h × 30"w × 29"d · Pair
