The Conran Shop BARCELONA CHAIR

Commissioned to design the German pavilion for the 1929 World Exposition in Barcelona and aware that the fair would attract many high profile visitors, including the Spanish King and Queen, Modernist architect Mies van der Rohe decided to design an 'important, elegant and costly' chair too. The result was the Barcelona chair with cushions made from 40 leather panels, cut from a single cowhide. Hand-welted and –tufted, the cushions are supported by cow hide belting straps on a chromed-steel frame that is hand-buffed to a mirror finish. The chair and ottoman are manufactured by Knoll International which was granted exclusive rights by the designer in 1953.