Bauhaus, Dessau
Form follows Bauhaus
Simplicity. A beautiful form instead of just a beautiful appearance. Elegant design that flows from a building’s function. And everything constructed with the highest-quality materials and craftsmanship – that is the credo that made the Bauhaus the most influential architectural school of the 20th century. In the 1920s the school’s renown drew great artists such as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky und Lazlo Moholy-Nagy to Dessau. The Bauhaus masters lived together in the so-called “Master Houses” designed by Walter Gropius.
Five minutes’ walk from the Bauhaus, the houses became seriously run-down during the East German era. Now they have been named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although arranged in a line with Gropius’ own home like a string of pearls, and at first glance identical, the Master Houses were nevertheless completely tailored to the contradictory personalities of Klee, Kandinsky, Feininger and Schlemmer: for example, Kandinsky and Klee in particular used their adjacent houses for experiments using strong colours as a design element. At present they are being restored true to the original – including switches and sockets from Berker. The Berker “Glasserie”, with its round glass facings, fits into the historic Bauhaus just as well as the “Serie 1930”, which was developed in close consultation with the Dessau Building Research Department; today it provides light in the Bauhaus’ workshops and classrooms, while the “Glasserie” has primarily been used in the Master Houses.
»Blueprint 01« documents the history of the Dessau Bauhaus and its Renaissance in large-format images. It also includes an interview with Monika Markgraf, Director of Building Research at Bauhaus Dessau.
To download a view of the restored Bauhaus or other Blueprint motifs as a screensaver, just click on “Download Screensaver”.
You can also order the large-format magazine free of charge using the online order form.