Layout It is obvious that in both buildings, the horizontal line reigned supreme. The main vanishing line of the walls are figures of speed. The line of the flat roof symbolises the modern movement with a horizontal response from the surface of the large pool, and so that nothing should distract from this mirror image. To the extent that in the case of the Barcelona Pavilion, many of the original prints have been retouched to remove any misplaced verticals. Material & Structure The concept of the Barcelona Pavilion is ultra-modern, but the materials are less so. There is no concrete but there are three different sorts of marble from Greece and Italy for the interior. For the open air and the paving; more economical than Travertine; the much favoured stone for monuments in ancient Rome is used. Mies van der Rohe considered these traditional and luxurious materials to be the indispensable complement to modernity. Here less provocative and more user-friendly. To this first deviation the architect handed a second. Contrary to the precepts of the modern movement, these materials are only a cladding concealing the proper structure of the walls. A metal frame on which are hung the stone slabs that are just a few centimetres thick and shown in Saleme’s analysis drawing. The architect plays on the oppositions of ancient and modern. The chromed metal posts stand apart from the Travertine or marble bases as if to prepare for the discovery of the space that separates structure from petition. In Saleme’s design, chromed spider fittings are used in the interior garden where the stairs are located by reinterpreting the similar playful touch. In one of the rare anecdotes wherein he mentions the pavilion, Mies van der Rohe tells about the shock he felt one evening when he was busy working on his plans when suddenly he had the idea of a totally new principle - a floating wall - freely placed in space not attached to anything. This wall constructed on the same principle as the others is covered in Onyx, the most luxurious of materials. That alone accounted for a fifth of the total budget of the pavilion. Similar to this, the Kitchen element in Saleme’s design is a floating element. Separating the kitchen and living room area.
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