Mies van der Rohe, Tugendhat Armchair for Knoll

LUDWIG MIES VAN DER ROHE (Germany, 1886 – U.S., 1969) for Knoll.
Tugendhat armchair.
Made of chromed steel frame, loose comfort cushions upholstered in black leather, upholstery with leather straps, model MR70. The chair is designed in 1929.
With certificate and Knoll stamp in the base.
Unused, in a box.
Produced by Knoll.
Measurements: 84 x 76 x 72 cm. Seat high 43 cm.

Designed in 1929 for the Tugendhat Villa in Brno, this armchair reflects the close relationship between architecture and furniture in the work of Mies van der Rohe. The cantilevered chrome-plated steel frame supports the separate black leather cushions with straps, creating a sense of suspension and a slight flexibility that promotes relaxation. Its significance for 21st-century design lies in how it transforms the structure itself into an aesthetic expression, combining formal clarity, comfort, and attention to detail.

An architect and industrial designer, Mies van der Rohe trained under Bruno Paul and Meter Behrens, and opened his own studio in Berlin in 1912. Between 1930 and 1933, he directed the Bauhaus in Dessau, although the political situation in Germany soon forced him to emigrate to the United States. There, he continued his brilliant career while also teaching at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Throughout his career, he designed iconic buildings primarily in Germany and the United States, most notably his skyscrapers in New York and Chicago, the German Pavilion for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, and the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin.