Bauhaus Dessau

Walter Gropius Dessau, Germany 1925

1
Bauhaus
The Bauhaus occupies a place of its own in the history of 20th century culture, architecture, design, art and new media. One of the first colleges of design, it brought together a number of the most outstanding contemporary architects and artists and was not only an innovative training centre but also a place of production and a focus of international debate. At a time when industrial society was in the grip of a crisis, the Bauhaus stood almost alone in asking how the modernization process could be mastered by means of design. Founded in Weimar in 1919, the Bauhaus rallied masters and students who sought to reverse the split between art and production by returning to the crafts as the foundation of all artistic activity and developing exemplary designs for objects and spaces that were to form part of a more humane future society. Following intense internal debate, in 1923 the Bauhaus turned its attention to industry under its founder and first director Walter Gropius (1883-1969). Walter Gropius who was responsable for the design of the Bauhaus in Dessau, gave this turn shape through the design in Dessau.

The Bauhaus (higher academy for the arts facade), Dessau, Germany

Situation scale 1/1000

ground floor scale 1/200

realizing a modern architectonic art, which, like human nature, should be all embracing in the scope. With that sovereign federative union all the different arts could be coordinated and find their appointed places. 1

The ideological motive for the school. The Bauhaus in Dessau had been inaugurated with the specific object of the

and industry and influence students so that they would be able to produce artistically, technically and practically balanced utensils. 3 The organisation and the program of the school in releation to the position of teaching. The origins of Bauhaus were far from the earlier methods of education in industrial art, art proper and architecture. Its programme was based on the newest knowledge in pedagogy. The idealistic basis of Bauhaus was a socially orientated programme. An artist must be conscious of his social responsibility Specialization together with solid basic knowledge was not a risk when the students were employed by the production. They were able to follow the changes in technology and society in a flexible manner. Homogeneous professional roles started to dissolve in practice, or at least to change radically. At the same time it seemed necessary for the student to take personal responsibility for did, of course, motivate in vocational subjects and practical workshop work. The Bauhaus workshops were the birthplaces of new industrial designs. First, an industrialization of the handicrafts was realized. Results also showed in the field of textile art. Thousands of experiments with textiles were performed. Many of them were adopted by the factories for production, and they were also eagerly copied. Likewise photography was taken more seriously into the curriculum at the end of the 1920s. Oskar Schlemmer led the work of the exhibition department. He trained painters, technicians, actors, dancers, and directors. 3

The position of the arts in the society at that time. After the World War I in 1918 their manifestos on those of the radical workers groups and hoped that political revolution might be accompanied by a cultural one. Gropius caught the ambivalent mood of the period oscillating between despair at internal collapse and hope in some radiant, new social edifice when he wrote in 1919:

to the community. On the other hand the community has to accept the artist and support him.

Todays artists live in an era of dissolution without guidance. He stands alone. The old forms are in ruins, the benumbed world is shaken up, the old human spirit is invalidated and in flux towards a new form. We float in space and cannot perceive the new order. 2

The architect of the school and his ideological conviction about Architecture and the arts. Bauhauss founder is Walter Gropius, a German architect and art educator. According to Gropius all design should be functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. In the architecture of the Dessau Bauhaus this can be recognized. The building made it possible for students, professors and professionals to experience and to practice designing through the eyes of Gropiuss ideology. Gropiuss intention with Bauhaus was to develop creative minds for architecture basement not to scale

Bauhaus Dessau

Walter Gropius Dessau, Germany 1925

main facade scale 1/200

facade of the technical school scale 1/200

section scale 1/200

Representation of function and ideological position trough construction, materialisation and architectural themes. The construction of the building with an in-situ-reinforced-concrete skeletal framework, with the columns exposed on the inside of the building in combination with universal section steel windows make a reference to the ideology of Walter Gropius and actually one of the most recognizable aspects of modernism: The Machine, which Walter Gropius quotes:

The Bauhaus believes the machine to be our modern medium of design and seeks to come to terms with it.4
The interlocking system by linking different elements in a deliberate a-symmetric form. The schools different requirements determined the layout of the interlinked buildings. Each area has its coherence and its specific design based on the requirements of its incorporated function. The uniqueness of each area was created by the fact that each area had it proper structural solution and spatial configuration, meanwhile coherence between the different areas was achieved by the materialization which through the entire building itself repeats. 5

Presence of art diciplines in the Bauhaus. The Dessau Bauhaus incorporated many art disciplines such as: Architecture, metalworking, joinery, weaving, painting, sculpturing, stagecraft, dance, photography, film, typography, furniture, fixtures, textiles, graphic design, typography and advertising.3 Every discipline had its own place in the constellation. Depending on under with category the discipline could have been placed, the Higher Academy for the Arts or The Technical School, the character of the discipline or group of disciplines was represented in its spatial configuration and structural solution.5
Sources: 1. Sharp, Dennis (1993) Bauhaus, Dessau (Phaidon) London; p. 6-7 2. Curtis, William J.R. (2005) Modern architecture since 1900 (Phaidon) London; p. 183 3. Huovio, Ilkka (Year Unknown) Bauhaus The New Man - The New Technique. (University of Industrial Arts Helsinki) Helsinki 4. Sharp, Dennis (1993) Bauhaus, Dessau (Phaidon) London; p. 17 5. Compain, Frederic (Year Unkn.) Documentary:Architecture! (Editor Unknown) Location unknown; Part 1/23 Images: www.bauhaus-dessau.de

first floor not to scale

Bauhaus Dessau
Program public private etc.

Walter Gropius Dessau, Germany 1925

2100 m2

1300 m 1200 m2 960 m2 825 m2

1400 m2

705 m2 310 m2 xxxx m2 Auditorium Caf / Restaurant Tech. Workshops Student school facilities classrooms Student housing Offices facilities / Circulation (hor. + storage / vert.) installation Other Parking xxxx m2 Outside space 3D overview of the functiongroups in the Bauhaus volume

150 m2

250 m2

program / non program

ground floor

ground floor

ground floor

ground floor

first floor

first floor

first floor

first floor

Circulation Floorplans of the ground floor and the first floor.

Public vs. Private

Placement of the functions

Informal communication spaces

Relation between the function inside the building and the facade on the outside.

Difference in facade and programs

Relation between the inside of the building and its surroundings

Entering of light

Relation between the program and the facade of the building. The facade of the bauhaus is largely determined by the function that is behind it. In the diagrams above the difference between the facade of the Technical school and the Art Academy is explained on the hand of the program. The facade at the Technical school has long horizontal ribbon windows. These allow enough daylight to enter the classrooms but dont allow the students to look outside during classes. The facade at the Art Academy (the workshops) is as transparant as possible: a complete glass facade spreads over three levels to maximize the amount of light entering the building. Circulation in the Bauhaus. The circulation plays an important role in the Bauhaus building. Gropius designed the circulation spaces not only for mere movement but also for communication to take place. The staircases as well as the hallways in front of them show a sign of conciousness by the architect in creating the possibility of informal communication to take place.

elevation technical school windows schematic section: Functions

elevation technical school open vs. closed (transparancy)

section: Public vs. Private main elevation windows schematic

section: Informal communication spaces

main elevation open vs. closed (transparancy)

3D overview of the functiongroups in the Bauhaus volume

sections

elevations