Discover what made the future: Bauhaus

Bauhaus, literal translation ‘Building House’, was a German art school founded by Walter Gropius in the early 20th century. This year marks the centenary of the founding of Bauhaus 1919 which was an event celebrated by Google with their own Google Doodle on the 12th April 2019.

Bauhaus was founded on the idea of ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ which meant ‘Total work of art’. This encapsulated the thinking that all arts will be brought together and even though architecture didn’t even have a department at the school it soon became one of the most prevalent proponents of Bauhaus.

Bauhaus heavily influenced modernist architecture and from there many other developments in the design world such as art, graphic design, industrial design and interior design. The design process focused on simplicity coupled with functionality. This meant there could be an economic benefit without sacrificing quality and avoiding opulence. One of the main objectives of the Bauhaus was to unify art, craft, and technology.

The school was stopped by Nazi’s who exiled many designers and artists of the time. This ultimately led to the trend spreading even further with these exiles taking their styles and ideas to other countries – a notable example of this being Tel Aviv’s (Israel) addition to the world heritage site list for their abundance of Bauhaus architecture.

The influence of the Bauhaus on design education was truly significant.