Week 1: Research into the Barcelona Pavilion

Before beginning to deconstruct this model physically, I felt it was necessary to study all aspects of this building from the ways it was constructed, to the materials used and the concepts behind its creation.

From what I have researched thus far, The Barcelona Pavilion was designed by Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe during the peiod of 1921928-29. Mies Van Der Rowe only was given one year to construct what would eventuate to be a landmark and cornerstone of modern architecture for the rest of time.

CONCEPT:

The concept behind the Barcelona Pavilion was to design a building which blended both the inside and outside spaces seamlessly, forcing one to have to move through the building rather than going around it. The Commissioner, Georg von Schnitzler said it should give "voice to the spirit of a new era", and thus Mies Van Der Rohe achieved this concept with the realization of the free plan design and 'floating room'. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Pavilion#Concept]

MATERIALS:

The materials used to construct the Barcelona Pavilion primarily consisted of Plates of high-grade stone materials like:
- veneers of:
       - Timos Verde Antico Marble
       - Golden / Red onyx
       - Tinted glass of grey, green, white, as well as translucent glass, perform exclusively as spatial dividers.
- Travertine
- Concrete for the slab beneath the marble tiles.


In addition to the design, the materials are what give the Barcelona Pavilion its true architectural essence as well as the ethereal and experiential qualities that the pavilion embodies.  The pavilion meshes the man-made and the natural employing four types of marble, steel, chrome, and glass.  The marble originates from the Swiss Alps and the Mediterranean.  Mies’ implementation of the marble is created through a process of splitting, called broaching, that creates a symmetrical patternization that’s found in the marble.  However, the most used material is the Italian travertine that wraps the plinth and the exterior walls adjacent to the reflecting pool.  When exposed to the sun, the travertine becomes illuminated almost as a secondary light source that dissolves the natural stone and washes the light over the space.  The travertine’s inherent luminous qualities as well as Mies’ seamless employment of the material over the plinth adds to the dissolution of spatial demarcation transforming the pavilion into one continuous volume rather than two separate entities.
[ http://architectureassociate.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/barcelonapavilion-commentary-thesite_7943.html]


CONSTRUCTION

"In reality, the Barcelona Pavilion was a patch-up structure. Technically Mies was unable to erect the pavilion as a pure 'Dom-ino' structure; the eight cruciform columns alone could not support the roof and a number of extra columns had to be lodged in the double-skinned marble screens to help carry the load. But this makeshift structure did the job Mies asked of it and the plan remained inviolate. He pursued the idea in his model house at the Berlin Building Exhibition of 1931,..."

— Frank Russell, ed. Mies van der Rohe: European Works. p20.

This paragraph taken from [http://architectureassociate.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/barcelonapavilion-commentary-thesite_7943.html] defines this structure very nicely. The entire building was created from skinned exotic panels - it allowed for the quick construction of the building as it was only meant to be a temporary structure.