Dressing the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion to strip it of all materiality. This simple act turned the Pavilion into a representation of itself, opening the door to multiple interpretations about aspects like the value of the original, the role of the white surface as an image of modernity and the importance of materiality in the perception of space. The book Mies Missing Materiality.
Anna & Eugeni Bach presents this installation which works as a trigger for reflection with the contributions of Juhani Pallasmaa, Fabrizio Gallanti, María Langarita, Carlos Quintáns and Juan José Lahuerta and the photos of Adrià Goula. Juhani Pallasmaa writes about perception connected to memory and imagination, and connects this transformation of the Pavilion with other works of art which entice the viewer to dream while awake.
Fabrizio Gallanti follows this idea and focuses on the ambiguity between the contradictory history of architecture and its systems of communication. María Langarita reminds us about the debate on authenticity and how, by transforming the Pavilion, it continues having a destabilizing capacity. This capacity provokes a strong effect on Carlos Quintáns as the new material strengthens the continuity between the horizontal and vertical planes but not of the joints, altering our perception of things.
Juan José Lahuerta highlights the role of the materials in modern architecture and how we appreciate them when they are missing; an installation that works as a radical critique against the stereotypes of our history and our present. The book also presents the fantastic photographic work of Adrià Goula who captured the different moments of the transformation of the Pavilion, from its loss of original materials, its white appearance and its slow recovery back to its original state. Source and photos Courtesy of Fundació Mies van der Rohe.
Photo Courtesy of Fundació Mies van der Rohe
- Authors: Anna Bach & Eugeni Bach
- Graphic Design: spread: Tomoko Sakamoto & David Lorente
- Texts: Anna & Eugeni Bach, Juhani Pallasmaa, Fabrizio Gallanti, María Langarita, Carlos Quintáns & Juan José Lahuerta
- Publisher: Fundació Mies van der Rohe
- Coordination: Ivan Blasi
- Photographs: Adrià Goula
Photo Courtesy of Fundació Mies van der Rohe 
Photo Courtesy of Fundació Mies van der Rohe 
Photo Courtesy of Fundació Mies van der Rohe 
Photo Courtesy of Fundació Mies van der Rohe 
Photo Courtesy of Fundació Mies van der Rohe Photo Courtesy of Fundació Mies van der Rohe 
Photo Courtesy of Fundació Mies van der Rohe 
Photo Courtesy of Fundació Mies van der Rohe 
Photo Courtesy of Fundació Mies van der Rohe