5) Architecture and narrative: the formation of space and cultural meaning, by Sophia Psarra (2009) [electronic resource] (Chapter on Mies van der Rohe, pp. 43-64).

The Barcelona Pavilion for the International Exhibition was supposed to represent the new Weimar Germany and therefore the commissioner, Georg Con Schnitzler wanted it to voice to the spirit of a new era. The building was designed to be a tranquil zone in which visitors would enter before heading to the next attraction. The layout of the structure ensured that guests did not pass through the space in a straight line, but were instead lead into all corners of the pavilion by continuous turnabouts. In my design work I should also aspire to produce spaces, which invite people to explore them thoroughly and not simply pass through.  I really like how Ludwig unified the interior and the courtyard space, the reflections on the glass transfers elements to the interior space and liberates it from the classical building type with polarity of inside and out.

There is a detachment from classical form in its style. In classical buildings one can gather a bearing within a structure due to previously experiences of similar forms, however the Pavilion houses spaces completely different to traditional elements, which invites the user to explore and move around the building to view it from different perspectives.

I also like the extravagant materials used which give the building a unique feature. The glass also serves great purpose in bringing the interior and exterior together to form one flowing form.

Up on the roof (BBC,2015)

Image reference: bbc, (2015), Up on the roof [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20130924-less-is-more-a-design-classic [Accessed 03 December 14].