The year 1929 represented a turning point at the crossroads between the old world and the new. In the United States, the New York Stock Exchange crashed, while in Spain, the Barcelona International Exposition was underway – a celebration of progress, technology and a new way of life.
It was here that Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created his German Pavilion – the pinnacle of modernist architecture. Unlike the other national pavilions, it contained no exhibits; it became an exhibition piece itself – an example of a new architecture based on clean lines, free space and noble materials. He also designed one of the most famous pieces of furniture of the 20th century for this environment: the Barcelona chair.
While at the time of its creation it symbolised technical progress and a completely new aesthetic, today it is proof that truly high-quality design never ages. It is a chair that has become a monument, a lasting legacy of modernism.
The exhibition traces the story of this chair from the initial prototypes to the current mass production. It also shows in detail for the first time how the authentic copies placed in Villa Tugendhat as part of the seating by the onyx wall in the second floor living space were made.
Exhibition opening
Wednesday 29 October 2025, 18.00
Exhibition duration
30 October 2025 – 15 March 2026
(accessible without reservation Tue–Sun, 10.00–18.00)
The exhibition is situated on the technical ground floor of Villa Tugendhat.
Exhibition concept authors: Miroslav Ambroz, Vladimír Ambroz, Iveta Černá, Michal Kolář
Curator: Michal Kolář
Expert texts and research: Miroslav Ambroz
Architectural design: Vladimír Ambroz
Graphic design of the exhibition and printed materials: 44“ Print, Kristina Ambrozová
Proofreading: Alena Benešová
Translation: Kateřina Báňová
Technical drawings for replicas: A.M.O.S. DESIGN, Vladimír Ambroz, Martina Polachová, Josef Chladil
Replicas production: A.M.O.S. DESIGN
Collaboration on replicas production: Gratz Industries (New York, USA), Stanislav Solár, Petr Hess, Koželužna Otrokovice
Photographs: A.M.O.S. DESIGN, Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin, David Židlický, Getty Images, Knoll Archive, Miroslav Ambroz, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Muzeum města Brna (MuMB), Tecta/Stuhlmuseum Burg Beverungen, Thonet, Vitra Design Museum
Acknowledgments: Frank Herterich (Berlin, DE), Dirk Lohan (Chicago, USA), Wolf Tegethoff (Munich, DE), Hans Deuerler a Friederike Deuerler (Munich, DE), Paul Galloway (New York, USA), Knoll Inc. (East Greenville, Pennsylvania, USA), Thonet (Frankenberg, DE), Tecta (Lauenförde, DE), Vitra Design Museum (Weil am Rhein, DE), Museum of Modern Art (New York, USA), cre8 (Prague, CZ), Gratz Industries (New York, USA)
The exhibition was prepared by the Villa Tugendhat Study and Documentation Centre, Brno City Museum, with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.