Barcelona Lounge Chair by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
If the test of a timeless style icon is whether it looks incongruous in a contemporary setting, then the Barcelona chair has to be the pre-eminent design classic of the past century. Although conceived in 1929 by German-born architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), Barcelona looks every bit at home in contemporary houses today.
Mies van der Rohe was director of the Bauhaus School of Design and was possibly the most influential architect of the mid-20th century. Famous for his dictum 'less is more', he is credited with creating today's image of the modern city via his severe designs for the Seagram Building in New York and Farnsworth House in Illinois.
The Barcelona chair was created for the then king and queen of Spain who were to visit the German Pavilion of the Barcelona International Exhibition (hence the name). Built around a simple curved steel 'X' frame, the rectangular back and seat are upholstered with hand-stitched individual leather buttoned squares.
'I love the clean lines,' says Barcelona owner Christina Chew of LCL Architects. 'It's so elegant and very ample in size, but at the same time very thin so it actually makes a small space look bigger.
'However, it's only comfortable for tall people as the seat is very deep. And now that I have a child, I probably wouldn't go for it again as the frame has sharp edges which a toddler could gash his eye on.'