Apres Christmas - Flipbook - Page 18
DESIGNS THAT KEEP ON GIVING
THE GIFTS OF
THE BAUHAUS
Staatliches Bauhaus, or just
Bauhaus for non-purists, has
arguably been the most in昀氀uential
movement in modern design.
Founded in 1919 by that colossus
that was the German architect
Walter Gropius, their objective was
not an easy one: to reimagine and
then reinvent the material world to
re昀氀ect the unity of all the arts.
From its conception in 1919 until,
under pressure from the Nazi
government and the impending war,
it shuttered its doors in 1933, the
school existed in three German cities
(Weimar, Dessau and Berlin) under
three different directors: Walter
Gropius from 1919 to 1928, Hannes
Meyer from 1928 to 1930 and
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe from
Gropius had a utopian view of
the world in which architecture,
sculpture and painting were
amalgamated into a single creative
expression. He aimed to educate
a new type of designer who would
acquire artisanal and artistic
foundations as well as knowledge
of the human psyche, the process
of perception. ergonomics and
technology. Having said this, the
young designers’ sole purpose was
not to invent new objects, but to
also actively seek out a role in the
transformation of society.
1930 until 1933.
In the contemporary milieu
of design, however, there is a
renewed interest in the philosophy
that Gropius proposed nearly a
century ago. Terms like “social
design”, “open design” or “design
thinking” have enjoyed something
of a renaissance in design circles
and renewed discussions of how
a designer’s work should help to
shape society’s are 昀氀aring up.
Enjoy the elegance of some of the
most in昀氀uential – and our favourite –
Bauhaus seating designs!
Flat Bar Brno
Cantilever Chair
by Ludwig Mies
van der Rohe
In the contemporary
milieu of design, however,
there is a renewed
interest in the philosophy
that Gropius proposed
nearly a century ago.
YESTERDAY’S NEWS TOMORROW
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