What happened to the original pavilion?

It was taken down after the fair

Barcelona Pavilion Quiz: Mies van der Rohe's 1929 Marble Gem

This Barcelona Pavilion quiz steps onto the travertine platform of Mies van der Rohe's German pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition. Play 10 interactive questions on co-designer Lilly Reich, the golden onyx wall, chrome cross-shaped columns, reflecting pools, the Barcelona Chair, Georg Kolbe's statue, its demolition and its 1980s rebuild.

Start Barcelona Pavilion Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Event
For which event was the pavilion built?
Architect
Who designed the pavilion?
Partner
Who co-designed the interiors?
Wall
Which stone forms a famous freestanding wall?
Columns
What shape are the chrome columns?
Water
What lies on the platform?
Chair
Which chair was designed for the pavilion?
Statue
Whose sculpture stands in the small pool?
Fate
What happened to the original pavilion?
Rebuild
When was the pavilion reconstructed?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: For which event was the pavilion built?
Answer: The 1929 International Exposition
It represented Germany.
Q2: Who designed the pavilion?
Answer: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
He worked with Lilly Reich.
Q3: Who co-designed the interiors?
Answer: Lilly Reich
She was a designer.
Q4: Which stone forms a famous freestanding wall?
Answer: Golden onyx
Its veining is dramatic.
Q5: What shape are the chrome columns?
Answer: Cross-shaped
They reflect light.
Q6: What lies on the platform?
Answer: Reflecting pools
They mirror the walls.
Q7: Which chair was designed for the pavilion?
Answer: The Barcelona Chair
It was for royal guests.
Q8: Whose sculpture stands in the small pool?
Answer: Georg Kolbe's
It is called Dawn.
Q9: What happened to the original pavilion?
Answer: It was taken down after the fair
It was a temporary structure.
Q10: When was the pavilion reconstructed?
Answer: In the 1980s
It reopened in 1986.

Marble, Glass and a Floating Roof

The Barcelona Pavilion was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, with Lilly Reich, as Germany's pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona. A thin flat roof seems to float over walls of marble, onyx and glass on a travertine platform.

A freestanding wall of golden onyx glows with dramatic veining, and slender chrome cross-shaped columns reflect the light. Two reflecting pools mirror the walls, and Georg Kolbe's sculpture Dawn stands in the smaller one. The Barcelona Chair was designed for royal guests.

The pavilion was temporary and taken down after the fair. Its fame grew through photographs, and it was reconstructed on the original site in the 1980s, reopening in 1986. It remains a key work of modern architecture.

What This Quiz Teaches

Architecture fans will enjoy these questions.

Why it was built
Who designed it
Which materials it uses
Which objects belong to it
How it was rebuilt

Did You Know?

Mies is linked to the phrase less is more.
The pavilion had no exhibits inside.
Visitors walk through flowing spaces.
Green marble lines some walls.
Barcelona Chairs are still made today.