Meis Van der Rohe is, without a doubt, one of the 20th century’s most influential designers. A leading pioneer of the modernist movement his motto ‘Less is More” is still iterated throughout the design world today.
However, when discussing the Barcelona Pavilion one must take in to consideration the work of Lilly Reich, Meis Van der Rohe’s personal and professional partner, and the often forgotten co-creator of the Pavilion. Reich was originally a textile designer and she carried this skill through to her work in both interior, architectural and furniture design with her interest in contrasting textures and materials. This particular interest can be seen reflected in the Barcelona pavilion, from the red curtain providing a soft, striking contrast against the harder, harsher marbles and onyx. This contrast in materials also provides a sound baffling effect, the softness allowing for acoustic deadening. It's important too, to note how Lilly Reich is often forgotten in her involvement in the creation of the Barcelona Chair despite her being the furniture designer in the relationship. Many have commented on this, making note that Meis did not create any successful furniture before or after his collaboration with Reich. Albert Pfeiffer, Vice President of Design and Management at Knoll - the company that reproduces the Barcelona Chair - has said ‘It became more than a coincidence that Mies's involvement and success in exhibition design began at the same time as his personal relationship with Reich.” It wasn’t until 1996, almost fifty years after her death, when MoMA exhibited her work, that Lilly Reich was finally recognised to be the influential and integral designer standing in the shadow of the great Meis Van der Rohe.
What strikes me most about Lilly Reichs story is the familiarity of it. I have spent the last few years in design education being taught by high achieving, successful female architects and interior designers who have been forced out of the industry having become mothers. While their husbands, many of whom are architects and designers themselves, get patted on the back and congratulated these women get asked “was it planned?” and “how do you expect to keep working?”. Why is it that in this day and age the design industries are still amongst the top professions with such a discrepancy between the sexes? Studies from 2017 show that even though 70% of design students were female only 11% of the creative directors in our industry are women. Where are all these female designers going and why is there still such a gap in the industry?
The Barcelona Pavilion is considered on of the great modernist masterpieces and yet Lilly Reich is rarely mentioned in textbooks and not given credit for her work. Reich traveled the world, studied and worked with some of the greatest designers of her time, taught at the Bauhaus school of Design and Architecture as one of the few female teaching staff, and I only learnt of her last week. Take a minute to question - why is that?
