Paper

A Tale of Three Stones

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Abstract

Architects are often disconnected from the labor, sources, and processes used to produce the materials they select. In his recent book Unless, Kiel Moe confronts this disconnect by demonstrating the vast “terrestrial” nature (environmental, social, economic, political) of building through his description of Mies van der Rohe’s Seagram Building. This paper builds on Moe’s argument through considering another project by Mies: the Barcelona Pavilion. The Pavilion is a compelling case study for considering terrestrial building because of its complicated history: it was temporarily constructed for the International Exposition in Barcelona in 1929 and painstakingly reconstructed in 1986. This process, particularly the reconstruction, placed a unique emphasis on the material selections. This paper considers the selection of the stone used for cladding the wall at the heart of the Pavilion in three different iterations: the original, the reconstruction, and a speculative, contemporary version designed by the author. Given that a full terrestrial account of the Barcelona Pavilion would merit another book-length project like Moe’s, this paper focuses instead on what this material selection reveals about the discipline’s often unstated values. An unyielding commitment to luxurious, unique materials, privileging aesthetic and experiential considerations, provides a significant barrier to answering Moe’s call to realize the terrestrial impact of our building practices and address their significant contribution to climate change.

Keywords: Barcelona Pavilion, terrestrial, contingency, literal

How to Cite:

Peiffer, K., (2023) “A Tale of Three Stones”, Building Technology Educators’ Society 2023(1), 155-162. doi: https://doi.org/10.7275/btes.1948