History of Cities and their Architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

History of Cities and their Architecture - Essay Example Philip Johnson developed one of the chairs for his collection. Mies van der Rohe designed Barcelona Pavilion, which was developed from German Pavilion, during international exposition that was in Barcelona Spain. It was constructed with the aim of demonstrating modern movement of architecture of the world (Curtis, 2008). The building was originally named a Germany pavilion, as it was the expression of Germany after the First World War to indicate the culture of the country that is still rooted in the classical history. The pavilion was built with an aim of hosting King Alphonso XIII of Spain and officials from Germany during the time of exposition (Curtis, 2008). As compared to other buildings at the exposition, Mies understood that work he did as just a building and he did not aim in housing art or any sculpture. The building was just designed to place tranquility and escape from exposition, which was then to transform the pavilion into an inhabitable statue. By raising the pavilion on a plinth in conjunction with the narrow profile of the site, the Barcelona Pavilion has a low horizontal orientation that is accentuated by the low flat roof that appears to float over both the interior as well as the exterior. The furniture of the building also exhibits the duality of modernism and classicism. The now iconic Barcelona chair and ottoman were designed specifically for the Barcelona Pavilion. The Barcelona building served as a reception place for the King and Queen of Spain. After the exhibition in which the pavilion intended was closed, the resembling of the pavilion was in 1930. As time went, the pavilion became a key point not only to Mies but also to other architectures that operated in the 20th century. In 1980, there was setting of project by Oriol Bohigas who was the head of planning department to ensure that there was