Bauhaus Movement

LECTURER AR. PRADIP POKHAREL

4 JAN 2019
 Bauhaus
for the future
the Bauhaus gave us assurance
in facing the perplexities
of work;
it gave us a know how to work.
A foundations in the crafts,
An invaluable heritage of timeless principles
As applied to the
creative process.

By, Herbert Bayer, a prose poem entitled

“Homage To Gropius”
 Bauhaus
• A school of art, architecture and design
characterized by geometric design, respect
for practical material, and its severely
economic sensibilities.

• Founded by Walter Gropius in 1919-30s in

Germany. He coined the term Bauhaus as
an inversion of the word meaning ‘house
construction’ or ‘Hausbau’.

• Focused on functional craftsmanship, and

his students were guided to focus on
designs that could be mass produced.

• Continues to influence us today, where any

modern environment often incorporates
elements of the period. Influenced
architecture, furniture, typography, and
weaving.
 History
• The school was founded by Walter
Gropius at the conservative city of
Weimar in 1919, as a merger of the
Weimar School of Arts and Crafts and
the Weimar Academy of Fine Arts
• Named Das Staatliches Bauhaus
(literally translated, The State Home
For Building).
• His opening manifesto proclaimed:
 To create a new guild of craftsmen,
without the class distinctions which
raise an arrogant barrier between
craftsmen and artist.
 The Bauhaus at Weimer
• The Bauhaus year in Weimer (1919-
24) were intensively visionary and
drew inspirations from
expressionism.
• Characterized by utopian desire to
create a new spiritual society, the
early Bauhaus sought a new unity of
artists and craftsmen to build for the
future.
• Advanced ideas about form, color
and space were integrated into the
design vocabulary. No distinction
was made between fine and applied
arts.
• The Bauhaus was evolving from a
concern for medievalism,
expressionism, and handicraft
towards more emphasis on
rationalism and designing for
machine.
The impact of Moholy Nagy

• His passion for typography and

photography inspired Bauhaus
interest in visual communications
and led to the important
experiments in the unifications of
these two arts.
To create a message with
immediacy “the new visual
literature.”
The Bauhaus at Dessau

• In 1925 the school was rebuilt in

Dessau. One of the firsts and
considered one of the most famous
buildings of modern architecture.

• The Bauhaus ideas and philosophy

came to full fruition and abundant ideas
flowed from the Bauhaus to influence
20th century life and design.
 Transformation of the Bauhaus
•Under increasing political pressure the Bauhaus was closed on the
orders of the Nazi regime on Apirl 11, 1933.
• In 1937 László Moholy-Nagy was
invited by the American
Association of Arts and Industries
to become the director of the New
Bauhaus in Chicago.

• In 1997 the building was added to

UNESCO's list of World Heritage
along with Bauhaus in Weimar.

• Today, the Bauhaus in Dessau is

involved in preservation,
education, exhibitions and
various other activities.
The ultimate aim of all creative
activity is a building! The
decoration of buildings was once
the noblest function of fine arts,
and fine arts were indispensable to
great architecture. Today they exist
in complacent isolation, and can
only be rescued by the conscious
co-operation and collaboration of
all craftsmen. Architects, painters,
and sculptors must once again
come to know and comprehend the
composite character of a building,
both as an entity and in terms of its
various parts. Then their work will
be filled with that true architectonic
spirit which, as "salon art", it has
lost.
The old art schools were unable to
produce this unity; and how,
indeed, should they have done so,
since art cannot be taught?
Schools must return to the
workshop. The world of the pattern-
designer and applied artist,
consisting only of drawing and
painting must become once again a
world in which things are built. If
the young person who rejoices in
creative activity now begins his
career as in the older days by
learning a craft, then the
unproductive "artist" will no longer
be condemned to inadequate
artistry, for his skills will be
preserved for the crafts in which he
can achieve great things.
Architects, painters, sculptors,
we must all return to crafts! For
there is no such thing as
"professional art". There is no
essential difference between the
artist and the craftsman. The
artist is an exalted craftsman. By
the grace of Heaven and in rare
moments of inspiration which
transcend the will, art may
unconsciously blossom from the
labor of his hand, but a base in
handicrafts is essential to every
artist. It is there that the original
source of creativity lies.
Let us therefore create a new
guild of craftsmen without the
class-distinctions that raise an
arrogant barrier between
craftsmen and artists! Let us
desire, conceive, and create the
new building of the future
together. It will combine
architecture, sculpture, and
painting in a single form, and will
one day rise towards the
heavens from the hands of a
million workers as the crystalline
symbol of a new and coming
faith.
“The complete building is the ultimate aim of
the visual arts. Once the noblest function of
the fine arts was to embellish buildings;
they were indispensable components of
great architecture. Today the arts exists in
isolation ….. Architects, Painters, and
Sculptors must learn anew the composite
character of the building as an entity …..
The artist is an exalted craftsman. In rare
moments of inspiration, transcending his
conscious will, the grace o f heaven may
cause his work to blossom into art. But
proficiency in his crafts is essential to every
artist. Therein lies the prime source of
creative imagination.”
Bauhaus Principles

• Functionally predominates
ornamentation.

• Uses asymmetry and regularity

versus symmetry.
• Bauhaus architects
rejected "bourgeois"
details such as cornices,
eaves, and decorative
details.

• They wanted to use

principles of Classical
architecture in their most
pure form: without
ornamentation of any kind

• The school pioneered a

functional, severely simple
architectural style,
featuring the elimination of
surface decoration and
extensive use of glass.
• Bauhaus buildings have flat roofs,
smooth facades, and cubic shapes.

• Floor plans are open and furniture

is functional.

• White grey, beige black are the

dominant colors of this style.

• Bauhaus buildings are usually

cubic, favor right angles, (although
some feature rounded corners and
balconies.)
• With the development of air transport
the architect will have to pay as much
attention to the bird's-eye perspective
of his houses as to their elevations.

• The utilization of flat roofs as

'grounds' offers us a means of re-
acclimatizing nature amidst the stony
deserts of our great towns;...Seen
from the skies, the leafy house-tops of
the cities of the future will look like
endless chains of hanging gardens."
• All the Bauhaus directors were architects.
• Their very individual conception of building, however, cannot be jointly coined: quite
on the contrary, they must be seen as exponents of strongly divergent architectural
concepts.
• The names Walter Gropius, Hannes Meyer, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe stand for
individually structured educational concepts.
Walter Gropius
• German architect and an educator who
founded the Bauhaus, one of the most
influential architecture and design schools of
the 20th century.

• Born in Berlin on 18 may 1883 into a family

with strong architectural and educational
connections.

• Gropius studied architecture in Munich and

Berlin-Carlottenburg.

• From 1907 to 1910, worked in the offices of the

German pioneering functional architect peter
Behrens in Berlin. In 1911, joined the deutscher
Werkbund (German work union), formed to ally
designers with machine production.

• After World War I (1914 – 1918), became

director of two Weimar art schools

• 1919: founded the Bauhaus (house of building)

in Weimar as a merger of an art academy and
an arts and crafts school.
• When the school was moved to Dessau in
1925, Gropius designed its buildings. They
are marked by simplicity of shape,
elimination of surface decoration, and the
extensive use of glass.

• Resigned as director of the Bauhaus in

1928 to return to private practice

• Opposed to the Nazi regime, left Germany

secretly in 1934, and after several years in
England, he went to the United States to
join the architecture faculty of Harvard
University as head of the department (1938-
52), he introduced the Bauhaus concepts
and helped to shape a generation of
American architects

• From 1938 to 1941, worked on a series of

houses with Marcel Breuer and in 1945
founded "the architect's collaborative", a
design team that embodied his belief in the
value of teamwork.

• Gropius died in Boston, massachutes in

1969
Hannes Meyer
In 1927, Hannes Meyer was appointed director of
architectural tuition.

His building studies were based on three

fundamental assumptions:

• All courses in architecture must be based on

scientific facts. Major priority is given to the
functionality of a building in the most practical
sense. Any elaboration of a design must
therefore be preceded by research on the
usage, from which the building program should
be developed with scientific precision;

• The optimization of all necessary requirements

has priority over artistic considerations;

• All courses in architecture must be based on

activities from architectural practice
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

• The appointment of Ludwig Mies van der

Rohe as director of the Bauhaus was
programmatic:
• It was expected of him to reconcile Bauhaus
patrons with the institution, to continue with
the reforms introduced by Meyer, and, with the
help of his outstanding artistic personality, to
present a new Bauhaus image, particularly in
architecture.
• The tuition system developed was a reflection
of his personal experience: The first step was
the acquisition of a solid knowledge in building
techniques. This was followed by studies on
building types, and finally by designs in urban
planning.
 Bauhaus

Bauhaus

Art Architecture Stage Photography Workshop

Painting Graphic Art Sculpture Typography Pottery Furniture Product

Design
 Art

László Moholy-Nagy, Kinetic constructive

system, 1922, watercolor, Indian ink, collage
 Graphic art

Paul Klee, The bright side, Postcard for the

Bauhaus exhibition in summer 1923, Color
lithograph
 Painting

Vassily Kandinsky, Untitled, 1922,

Watercolor and Indian ink pen, From the
guest book of Gottfried Galston

Paul Klee, New in October, 1930, Oil,

watercolors and Indian ink on cotton
 Sculpture

Josef Hartwig, Chess set, 1924, Cherry

wood, natural and black coloration

Otto Werner, Architectural

sculpture, 1922, Limestone
 Photography

T. Lux Feininger, Sport at

the Bauhaus, c. 1927,
Vintage print

Herbert Bayer, Bicycle, 1928

Lucia Moholy, Bauhaus building
Dessau, Balcony of the studio
house, 1926, Vintage print
 Stage

Kurt Schmidt, The man at the

switchboard, Set design, 1924,
Tempera and silver bronze on
paper

Kurt Schmidt, The man at the

switchboard, Set design, 1924,
Tempera and silver bronze on
paper
 Furniture Design

Marcel Breuer, Lattice chair,

1924, Maple wood, woven
horsehair

Josef Pohl, wardrobe for

bachelors, on wheels, 1930
Pottery workshop

Theodor Bogler and Gerhard

Marcks, Mug with portrait of Otto
Lindig, 1922, High-fired
earthenware, slip painting, salt-
glaze
 Workshop for typography and
commercial art

László Moholy-Nagy, Title page

Joost Schmidt, Poster for the Bauhaus
exhibition in Weimar, 1923, Color
lithograph
of: "Staatliches Bauhaus
Weimar 1919-1923", 1923,
Letterpress print
 Weaving workshop

Ruth Hollós-Consemüller, Kitty Fischer-van der Mijll-

Gobelin, c. 1926, Cotton and Dekker, Design for a woolen
wool blanket, 1932, Gouache on
chequered paper
 Wall painting workshop

Alfred Arndt, Color plan for Haus Auerbach Alfred Arndt, Color plan for Haus
in Iena, 1924, Tempera and Indian Ink Auerbach, detail of bedroom
 Ash tray Design:
Marianne Brandt 1924
Material:
Polished stainless steel
Tea pot
Design: Marianne Brandt
Marianne Brandt 1926 Nickel 1924 Silver 925 /
plated metal parts, 1000, ebony.
opaque globe.

Ash tray Design:

Marianne Brandt 1924.
Ceiling lamp Design:
Material:
Bauhaus pendant
Marianne lamps
Brandt, 1926.
Brass and nickel
with chains plated brass.
Design:
Attributed to Marianne
Brandt, 1928.
 Floor lamp Design:
Gyula Pap 1923.
Pendant lamp Material:
Designed by: Hans Przyrembel Buquet wall lamp EB 27 WL
Lacquered black iron,
Eduard -Wilfried Buquet 1927
Material: nickel plated brass,
table lamp EB 27
Metal chrome plated, frosted glass frosted glass plate.
plate.

Buquet floor lamp EB 27 STL

 Fruit Bowl Design:
Josef Albers 1924.
Material:
Silver plated brass, balls,
black plastic.

Glass switches - The Bauhaus switch

Silver Plated Bowl

by Gyula Pap
Material: Silver plated brass.

wall fixture Design:

Mart Stam 1927.
Material:
Polished nickel plated brass.
Bauhaus door & window handles
Design:
Walter Gropius 1923.
Pair of levers, large size, comply with lever roses and spindle.
Material:
Gro D 23 E Ni
Polished and nickel plated.

Design:
Wilhelm Wagenfeld 1928.
Pair of levers, compl. with round lever roses and spindle.
Material:
WD 28 Rd Ni
Polished and nickel plated.

Design:
Ferdinand Kramer 1925.
Pair of levers, compl. with round lever roses and spindle.
Material:
FKD 25 Rd Ni
Polished and nickel plated.
 Charles Eames
Bauhaus Furniture design
 Marcel Breuer

Marcel Breuer, Tubular steel chair, 1926,

Marcel Breuer, Lattice chair, 1924, Nickel-plated tubular steel, iron thread
Maple wood, woven horsehair fabric
Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe
 László Moholy-Nagy, Title page of:
"Staatliches Bauhaus Weimar 1919-
1923", 1923, Letterpress print

Herbert Bayer, Plakat "section

allemande" für die Werkbund
ausstellung, Paris 1930,
Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin/ Atelier
Schneider

Joost Schmidt, Poster for the

Bauhaus exhibition in Weimar,
1923, Color lithograph
Herbert Bayer, cover design for
the edition in October 1934 László Moholy-Nagy, cover design
for the first edition in September
1929
 The Fagus Factory

• Date of construction: 1911-1913

• Architects: Adolf Meyer and Walter Gropius
• It was a shoe last factory owned by Carl Benscheidt
(1858-1947).

• Use of floor-to-ceiling glass windows on steel frames

that go around the corners of the buildings without a
visible structural support.

• For the first time a complete facade is conceived in

glass. The supporting piers are reduced to narrow
mullions of brick

• All buildings have a base of about 40cm of black brick

and the rest is built of yellow bricks. The combined
effect is a feeling of lightness or as Gropius called it
“etherealization”.

• In order to enhance this feeling of lightness, Gropius

and Meyer used a series of optical refinements like
greater horizontal than vertical elements on the
windows, longer windows on the corners and taller
windows on the last floor.
• The Bauhaus building provides an
important landmark of architectural
The Bauhaus Building
history.
• It consists of three connected wings

• Construction of the building Is

demonstrated by the latest technological
development of the time: a skeleton of
reinforced concrete with brickwork,
mushroom-shaped ceilings on the lower
level, and roofs covered with asphalt tile
that can be walked upon.

• Abolition of the separating function of the

wall. Role of the walls become restricted
to that of mere screens stretched
between the upright columns of the
framework to keep out rain, cold, and
noise.

• A hole that had to be hollowed out of the

full thickness of a supporting wall-should
be giving place more and more to the
continuous horizontal casement,
subdivided by thin steel mullions,
characteristic of the New Architecture.
 The Gropius house

• Family residence of noted architect Walter

Gropius at 68 Baker Bridge Road, Lincoln,
Massachusetts, USA.

• In keeping with Bauhaus philosophy, every

aspect of the house and its surrounding
landscape was planned for maximum
efficiency and simplicity.

• Modest in scale, the house was

revolutionary in impact.

• It combined the traditional elements of

New England architecture - wood, brick,
and fieldstone - with innovative materials
rarely used in domestic settings at that
time- glass block, acoustical plaster, and
chrome banisters, along with the latest
technology in fixtures.
 Breuer House

Marcel Breuer's buildings were always

distinguished by an attention to detail
and a clarity of expression.
Considered one of the last true
functionalist architects
Breuer helped shift the bias of the
Bauhaus from "Arts & Crafts" to "Arts &
Technology".
Harvard Graduate center
Massachusetts