Barcelona Couch
Summary
The Barcelona Couch from Knoll is a tribute to traditional craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail. Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1930, this iconic daybed sofa is one of the most celebrated designs of the 20th century. It features a stainless steel and solid mahogany frame that supports a button-tufted cushioned seat. A matching bolster is secured on top to add extra cushion and comfort. The couch’s cushioning is available in a standard highly resilient urethane foam or a relaxed soft density, fire retardant urethane foam blanketed with a non-woven fabric topper.
Dimensions
258L Barcelona Couch
Width: 39″
Depth: 78″
Height: 25″
Seat Height: 15.35″
Frame and upholstery options
With its metal legs, wood frame, and seat made from individual upholstery squares carefully welted together, each Barcelona Couch is a tribute to the marriage of modern design and exceptional craftsmanship. It is available with standard or relaxed cushions, upholstered in leather or fabric. The legs are offered in hand-buffed polished chrome, stainless steel, or ultra-matte onyx.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of architecture, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe brought a less-is-more approach to everything he designed, from furniture to skyscrapers. “Architecture is a language,” wrote Mies van der Rohe. “When you are very good you can be a poet.”
Product story
Through masterful proportioning and planning, Mies created a rhythmic and entirely unprecedented space, which elevated industrial-age materials to a level of grace never before achieved. Inside, Mies included chairs and stools conceived as a resting place for the King and Queen of Spain. Determined to create a chair worthy of royalty, Mies is thought to have based the designs, with their signature crisscross frames, on the campaign chairs of Ancient Rome. Mies: “I feel that it must be possible to harmonize the old and new in our civilization.”
Although the Barcelona Pavilion only stood for seven months, it is recognized as a defining achievement of modern architecture, as are the accompanying Barcelona Chairs (although the King and Queen reportedly never sat in them.
Mies, a close friend and mentor to Florence Knoll during her time at the Illinois Institute of Technology, formally granted Knoll the production rights to the Barcelona Chair and Stool in 1953. The designs immediately became a signature of the Knoll brand and have been built to Mies van der Rohe’s exacting standards ever since.
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