Barcelona pavilion gives birth to new style

Q: Which building at a world's fair signified the birth of modern architecture?

The Barcelona pavilion at the 1929 International Exhibition in Barcelona was a design emblematic of the Modern Movement. It has been exhaustively studied and interpreted, and inspired the oeuvre of several generations of architects.

It was designed by the legendary Ludwig Mies van der Rohe as the German national pavilion. Built from glass, travertine and different kinds of marble, the pavilion was conceived to accommodate the official reception presided over by King Alfonso XIII of Spain along with the German authorities.