Bauhaus is a German design school, founded by Walter Gropius, which operated from 1919-1933. The school sought to combine the aesthetics of design with the commercial demands of function and mass production. Bauhaus’s approach to design education emphasized the combination of theory and practice, and its pedagogy often included working with paper, wood, metal, and glass. The school offered both full-time and part-time courses, and its faculty included some of the most influential artists and designers of the 20th century, such as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and László Moholy-Nagy.
Despite its name, the Bauhaus was not initially focused on architecture. However, by 1925, architectural education accounted for about one third of the school’s total output. In its last years, the Bauhaus became increasingly politically radical, and was forced to close by the Nazi government in 1933. The school’s fundamental principles, as articulated by Gropius, were “the combination of fine arts and crafts”; a “union of art and technology”; the rejection of traditional hierarchies in favor of functional equality; and an openness to experimentation. These ideas have had a profound and lasting impact on the field of design, and the school’s approach has been adapted and reinterpreted by designers around the world.
The Bauhaus was founded at a time when the German economy was in ruins, and its mission was to help rebuild the country through design. The school’s founders believed that design could be used to improve the lives of ordinary people, and they set out to create products that were both beautiful and functional. The Bauhaus style is characterized by clean lines, simple forms, and a focus on functionality. The school’s approach to design was deeply influenced by the German philosopher Johannes Itten, who believed that art should serve a social purpose. Itten’s ideas are evident in the Bauhaus’s famous logo, which is based on an octagon, a symbol of harmony and balance.
The Bauhaus was initially based in Weimar, Germany, but relocated to Dessau in 1925. The move was prompted by disagreements between the school’s faculty and the city government of Weimar, which was reluctant to support a school that challenged traditional ideas about art and design. In Dessau, the Bauhaus built its own campus, which included several notable buildings designed by the school’s architects. The most famous of these is the Dessau-Törten housing estate, which was built between 1927 and 1930. The estate was designed to be a model for workers’ housing, and its clean lines and simple forms were a radical departure from the ornate architecture of the past.
The Bauhaus was forced to close in 1933, after the Nazi government came to power in Germany. Many of the school’s faculty and students fled the country, and the school’s buildings were destroyed by the Nazis. However, the ideas of the Bauhaus lived on, and its approach to design has been hugely influential in the development of modernism. The school’s legacy can be seen in the work of many famous architects, designers, and artists, such as Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Salvador Dali.
