His career continued and blossomed first as the director of the Bauhaus school in Berlin 1930-1933 where he produced further innovative design successes – including his cantilevered design of the ‘Brno’ and the ‘Tugendhat’ chairs.

In 1931 manufacture of Mies’ furniture including the Barcelona Chair was taken over by the Bamberg Metal workshops in Berlin , although there was a marked move away from what had been essentially a craft based mode of production when the production of the production of the cantilever chair was taken over by Thonet in 1932.

Then in the late 1930s as the 2nd world war approached Mies, like many of the Bauhaus teachers, had the foresight to relocate to the US, where he developed a world renowned architectural practice, producing some of his seminal works. Among them the Farnsworth House 1945-1950), the Lake Shore Drive Apartments in Chicago 1951 – 1958. He produced no more furniture after leaving Germany, (and Lilly Reich), although he did redesign the Barcelona Chair of the 1950s to take advantage of new manufacturing techniques and the invention of stainless steel. In 1948 license to produce the Barcelona Chair and a number of his other furniture designs were purchased by the wife of Hans Knoll, (Florence Knoll), whom Mies and Breuer had met while she was working for Gropius. In the 1960s Florence retired from Knoll, but the company continues to produce the Barcelona Chair to this day, together with a matching range of furniture not designed by Mies including the Barcelona Ottoman, Barcelona Daybed, Barcelona Benches two and three seat, Barcelona Sofas, Barcelona Coffee Table, and Barcelona Side Table