USM and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation

For more than 20 years, USM has been an important partner of the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, the foundation behind the iconic pavilion in Barcelona, celebrating culture, architecture and design excellence.

Both organisations share deep roots in architecture. In 1961, Paul Schärer, a design enthusiast and admirer of Mies van der Rohe, commissioned the Swiss architect Fritz Haller to design a new, flexible building for USM that could accommodate both the company’s administrative and production needs. This collaboration laid the foundation for the modular furniture system USM Haller, which was patented in 1965.

Almost two decades later, in 1983, the Fundació Mies van der Rohe was established to reconstruct the German Pavilion from the 1929 Barcelona World Fair, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich. In addition to this initial mission, the foundation aims to promote topics related to architecture and urban planning while also studying the works of Mies van der Rohe and other figures of the Modern Movement.

To support these goals, the foundation organises conferences, exhibitions, workshops, and competitions, including the Young Talent Architecture Award (YTAA) for young architects and the EUMies Award, the European Union prize for contemporary architecture. These initiatives are organized in collaboration with the European Commission and with USM as a sponsor.

In 2019, the competition Pavilion Workplace was launched in partnership with USM and its sales partner ADEYAKA BCN. It's a forward-thinking architectural competition that explores the relationship between architectural spaces and work environments, with architects, designers, and students from all over Europe as well as certain guest countries participating. Using the USM modular furniture system, the aim of the competition is to reflect on what offices and workspaces are today – and what they might become in the future. The winning projects are then showcased through a virtual reality tour in the pavilion.

In addition to supporting the foundation's activities, USM is a prominent presence in the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion itself, with its modular furniture featured in the office, reception area, shop, and meeting rooms, demonstrating the versatility of its design. The iconic building, a symbol of modernism, serves as the perfect backdrop for showcasing innovative ideas, and USM is honoured to contribute to these projects that push the boundaries of our society.

Learn more about the Pavilion, and about Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe and Lilly Reich on the on the website of the Fundació Mies van der Rohe.