DESSAU BAUHAUS

Synopsis
The Bauhaus was the most influential modernist art school of the 20th century, one whose approach to
teaching, and understanding art's relationship to society and technology, had a major impact both in
Europe and the United States long after it closed. It was shaped by the 19th and early 20th centuries
trends such as Arts and Crafts movement, which had sought to level the distinction between fine and
applied arts, and to reunite creativity and manufacturing. This is reflected in the romantic medievalism of
the school's early years, in which it pictured itself as a kind of medieval crafts guild. But in the mid 1920s
the medievalism gave way to a stress on uniting art and industrial design, and it was this which ultimately
proved to be its most original and important achievement.

The school is also renowned for its faculty, which included artists Wassily Kandinsky, Josef Albers, László
Moholy -Nagy, Paul Klee and Johannes Itten, architects Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe,
and designer Marcel Breuer.

Disciplines
Industrial design
Product design
Graphic design
Furniture design
Interior design
Textile design
Architecture design
 The school was started in Ceramic workshop , wood - The design school moved
Weimar by Walter Gropius Carving and book binding Institution of housing to its iconic campus
In a derelict factory Workshop set up Cooperation established in Dessau
1919 1920 1922 1925

The school was started in Bauhaus started to market

The construction studio Weimar by Walter Gropius Architecture course Product design at
Is run for a few years In a derelict factory started The institute
1929 1919 1927 1925

Metal work, wall painting and The workshops and architecture

Carpentry are merged to- The school had to be Departments are merged to
gather to form interior design Relocated to Berlin Form the building
1929 1930 1931

UNESCO adds the institute

Building to the world The school was decommissioned
Heritage site list Due to political pressure
1996 1933

Philosophy
Most student should face the fact that their future should be involved primarily with industry and mass
production rather than with individual craftsmanship.

The schools of design should, as the Bauhaus did, bring together the various arts of painting, architecture,
theatre, photography, weaving, typography, etc., into a modern synthesis which disregards conventional
distinctions between the "fine" and "applied" arts. A school of design should have on its faculty the purely
creative and interested artist such as the easel painter as a spiritual counterpoint to the practical
technician in order that they may work and teach side by side for the benefit of the student.
Manual experience of materials is essential to the student of design- experience at first confined to free
experiment and then extended to the practical workshop. The study of rational design in terms of
techniques and materials should be only the first step in the development of a new and modern sense of
beauty. Because we live in the 20th century, the student architect or designer should be offered no refuge
in the past but should be equipped for the modern world in its various aspects, artistic, technical, social,
economic, spiritual, so that he may function in society not as a decorator but as a vital participant.
Walter Gropius
1919 - 1928
Wiemer
Founder and Architect of Bauhaus School

Hannes Meyer
1928 - 1930
Dessau
Second Director of Bauhaus School

Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe

1930 - 1933
Berlin
Pioneering Master of Modern Architecture
What is Bauhaus ?
Bauhaus—literally translated to “construction house”—originated as a German school of the arts in the early
20th century. Founded by Walter Gropius, the school eventually morphed into its own modern art
movement characterised by its unique approach to architecture and design. Today, Bauhaus is renowned
for both its unique aesthetic that inventively combines the fine arts with arts and crafts as well as its
enduring influence on modern and contemporary art.

History
In 1919, German architect Walter Gropius established Staatliches Bauhaus, a school dedicated to uniting
all branches of the arts under one roof. The school acted as a hub for Europe's most experimental
creatives, with well-known artists like Josef Albers, Wassily Kandinsky, and Paul Klee offering their
expertise as instructors.

Bauhaus as an educational institution existed in 3 cities—Weimar (1919 to 1925), Dessau (1925 to 1932),

and Berlin (1932 to 1933)—until it was closed due to mounting pressures from the Nazis. However, even
after facing permanent closure, the influence and aesthetic of the school persisted, culminating in the
Bauhaus movement.
Style of Bauhaus
The style of Bauhaus is commonly characterised as a combination of the Arts and Crafts movement with
modernism, as evident in its emphasis on function and, according to the Tate, its “aim to bring art back
into contact with everyday life.” Thus, typical Bauhaus designs—whether evident in painting, architecture,
or interior design—feature little ornamentation and a focus on balanced forms and abstract shapes.

Bauhaus Art
In art, this emphasis on function is apparent in the balanced compositions of abstract pantings by
Bauhaus artists like Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee. Undoubtedly inspired by architecture, Bauhaus
paintings typically pair flat planes with overlapping shapes to suggest dimensionality.

In addition to paintings, Bauhaus artists often produced abstract sculptures, avant-garde collages, and
modernist posters featuring bold typography and blocks of colour.

Bauhaus in Architecture
Similar to Bauhaus art, architecture in this style is characterised by harmoniously balanced geometric
shapes and an emphasis on function.

Featuring open plans and lots of glass, it is inspired by the simple yet polished look of the American Arts
and Crafts movement—a genre popularised by master architect and Prairie School pioneer Frank Lloyd
Wright.

Furthermore, this modern architecture movement heavily inspired the look of mid-century modern homes,
which borrow the clean lines and functional design of Bauhaus buildings.
Legacy
Today, Bauhaus is often credited as the catalyst for modern architecture and furniture and as an important
influence on mid-20th century painting and sculpture. Some Bauhaus buildings—including Bauhaus
Dessau, a UNESCO World Heritage Site—have been turned into tourist destinations and house museums,
while many major modern art museums incorporate Bauhaus works of art into their permanent displays
and popular exhibitions.
The Bauhaus Building at Dessau
The Bauhaus is a fascinating building, and while it is structurally reasoned it is not easily captured in a
quick look but rather invites repeated investigation. It is not a box that contains functions and promotes
itself in unified form with some architectural signature but rather opens the box to reveal itself and its
functions. Its signature is this revelation. And it provides access to see and explore it from all angles, inside
and out, and up and down, with its many windows, intersections, open hallways, balconies, and doors to
the roofs. The best way to understand the building, as Gropius said, is to use it and be involved in its
activities, and this takes time and engagement. There are many places for contact and interaction in the
hallways and stairs and group meeting areas, and given the various inspirations of the instructors, the
school’s ambitions, and the spirit of the students, it must have been a tremendously lively and creative
place.

There is no ornamentation on the exterior, yet with the building’s many rectangular shapes, the various
windows, flush, inset, or protruding, and their different black casings and trim, it is complex and engaging.
In spite of strict colours, black white, grey, and clear glass, I want to say it is intimate and warm. I must
confess I made the doors red, as found in the current restoration.
Classrooms for a technical school are on the left, a requirement by the city of Dessau who funded the
building. On the right, the workshops. The bridge between them is not open but housed a hallway and
the architecture department and administrative offices. I did not reproduce floors and interior walls, which
could not be captured convincingly at this scale.

At the rear, studio apartments for the students with communal facilities in the basement. Between the
main workshops and the studios, an auditorium with a stage and a canteen. A screen separated the two,
which could be folded to open up the entire space for larger activities—theatre, talks, musical
performances, and parties.

The rear studios have doors that opened up to small balconies with railing. On the roof there is an open
structure and flooring that allow informal gatherings.
Floor plans
Plan shows the linear nature of the individual structures. the complex is divided into three main wings.
The studio apartments are connected by auditorium, canteen, kitchens and gymnasium to the long
narrow the wing on left is the school of arts and crafts, wing on the right accommodate the workshop.

Ground floor plan

First floor plan
Second floor plan


Concept & Style
Central to the school's operation was its original and influential curriculum. It was described by Gropius in
the manner of a wheel diagram, with the outer ring representing the vorkurs, a six-month preliminary
course, initiated by Johannes Itten, which concentrated on practical formal analysis, in particular on the
contrasting properties of forms, colours and materials. The two middle rings represented two three-year
courses, the formlehre, focused on problems related to form, and werklehre, a practical workshop
instruction that emphasised technical craft skills. These classes emphasised functionalism through
simplified, geometric forms that allowed new designs to be reproduced with ease. At the renter of the
curriculum were courses specialised in building construction that led students to seek practicality and
necessity through technological reproduction, with an emphasis on craft and workmanship that was lost in
technological manufacturing. And the basic pedagogical approach was to eliminate competitive
tendencies and to foster individual creative potential and a sense of community and shared purpose.

The creators of this program were a fabulously talented faculty that Gropius attracted. Avant-garde
painters Johannes Itten and Lyonel Feininger, and sculptor Gerhard Marcks were among his first
appointments. Itten would be particularly important: he was central to the creation of the Vorkurs, and his
background in Expressionism lent much of the tone to the early years of the school, including its emphasis
on craft and its medievalism. Indeed, Itten's avant-gardism and Gropius's social concerns soon put them
at odds. By the early 1920s, however, Gropius had won out; Itten left and was replaced by László Moholy-
Nagy, who reformed vorkurs into a program that embraced technology and stressed its use for society.
Space for students and junior masters
The main elements of the complex are the glass-fronted, three-storey workshop wing, the likewise three-
storey building for the vocational school and the five-storey studio building. The workshop wing and the
vocational school are connected by a two-storey bridge which was used for administration purposes.
Gropius’s private office was also located here until 1928. The workshop wing and the studio building are
connected by a one-storey building in which the so-called festive area comprising auditorium, stage and
canteen is located. The studio building housed students and junior masters in 28 studio flats, each
measuring 20 m2.

UNESCO World Cultural Heritage

The predominantly white facades of the complex form a perfect foil for the dark, imbedded glass
windows. Internally, the construction of the building is highlighted by different colours on load-bearing
and non-load-bearing elements. In 1932 the school of design was forced to close as a result of pressure
from the National Socialists, who had emerged victorious in the municipal elections. During the war the
complex was bombed, and the damage was at first only provisionally repaired. The building was then
listed in 1972 and restored for the first time. Extensive renovation measures followed after the Bauhaus
Building was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status. These were completed in 2006. The fact that it is
once more a vibrant centre for experimental design, research and education is to be credited to the
Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, which was founded in 1994 and is committed to preserving, researching and
passing on the illustrious heritage of the Bauhaus.