Design Knowledge Intermediary
Brno Chair

Brno Chair, 1930
Knoll, USA

Mies van der Rohe

Flat steel frame, leather upholstery

W 57.8 cm, H 80 cm, D 57.2 cm


The Brno chair (model number MR50) is a modernist cantilever chair designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1929-1930 for the bedroom of the Tugendhat House in Brno, Czech Republic. The design was based on similar chairs created by Mies van der Rohe working with Lilly Reich, such as the MR20 chair with wicker seat from 1927; all building on earlier designs of Mart Stam.

The Brno chair has become a modern furniture classic. It has very clean lines, consisting of a steel frame in a single piece, bent into a C-shape from the middle of the back, round past the front edge of seat (to create arms), and back under the seat to create a cantilever, with taut seat and back upholstered in leather. There are two versions of the chair, one in tubular steel and the other in flat steel. The metal was originally polished stainless steel; some modern examples are chrome plated.

The Brno chair was selected by Dan Cruickshank as one of his 80 man-made "treasures" in the 2005 BBC series, Around the World in 80 Treasures.

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