SOLA-MORALES, IGNASI / CIRICI, CRISTIAN
Originally erected in 1929 as a modest pavilion, the Barcelona Pavilion has over time achieved the status of one of the great buildings of the twentieth century. This interesting volume begins with an examination of the building in the context of Mies van der Rohe`s original vision, the materials, and contemporary critical reaction, and then leaps forward to an informative look at the recent reconstruction. The authors are the architects who realised the transformation, who have included specially prepared photographs for this edition. Their meticulous documentation of the reconstruction presents a detailed case study of the evolution of an important building. The book consists essentially of two parts: the first provides an extensive survey of the materials relating to the 1929 building and the critical responses to it. The second part sets out to present in some detail the technical treatment of the task of reconstructing the pavilion. The graphic documentation illustrating the two parts has considerable archive value in its own right, while some fifty full-colour plates reveal the reconstructed building of the present, originally designed as a modest pavilion and since elevated to the status of a paradigm of 20th century architecture.
