GEOMETRIC COMPOSITION IN THE PLAN AND ELEVATION OF BARCELONA PAVILION

Abstract

The Barcelona Pavilion built in 1929 is one of the masterpieces by Mies van der Rohe in his European days. The composition in the plan, elevation and section is analyzed by geometric theory. The conclusions are as follows: 1) Column position in the fourth scheme, in north-south direction, is on the intersection of floor joints, two grids inside from the eave. In west-east direction: eastern and western columns are laid out symmetrically across the centre line CLy. 2) Eastern surface of onyx wall divides ly, distance between the eastern wall and the western wall of the Pavilion by the ratio of 7:5, based on the second scheme's grid system. 3) The height of the platform, z1(1.3m), to the height from the platform top to the roof eave top, Z'(3.28m), is in integral ratio of 2:5, whereas the dimension of Z' is three times the module(1.09m) in the plan. 4) Each elevation of the building is composed by the integral multiplication of squares with Z(4.58 m) on a side where Z is height from GL to the roof eave top. 5) The height of the wall z2 is 3.03m and approximately one fourth of ly, distance between the east wall and the west wall. Integral multiplication of squares with z2 on a side composes walls on the elevation in many cases. 6) The ratio of the length to the height of the green marble wall at the eastern entrance is almost 3:1, that is triple square. Onyx wall is double square in the third scheme but the length is shorten in the fourth scheme, which distorts the simple integral multiplication. 7) It is said that the height of the ceiling is determined by the dimension of the onyx block, but the geometric composition of elevation may account for the height.