- Walter Gropius was the dominant figure in
setting the agenda for architecture at the Bauhaus.
It is in architecture that we see
the most visible influence on our modern world.
In the 21st century, we believe without
reservation that all architecture should be functional.
This is just one tenet of modernism
that Gropius introduced at the Bauhaus.
Breaking down the separation between
all art and design was a central tenet
of the arts and crafts movement.
This was incorporated in the philosophy of the Bauhaus.
But Gropius and other Bauhaus masters
were not interested in the romance of the handmade.
They emphasized industry and technology.
Mass production was revered, and the
function of the machine demanded
elimination of Victorian excess.
The goal now was to design only
with the necessary elements and
eliminate sentimental choices and
visual distractions that cluttered human lives.
Gropius formulated a manifesto for the Bauhaus
that stated, "The final goal of all
"artistic activity is architecture."
The new architecture would follow
these tenets: simplicity, symmetry,
angularity, abstraction, consistency,
unity, organization, subtlety, sharpness, primary color.
While architecture was central to the ideas,
it wasn't until 1927 that the Bauhaus
began to offer classes in architecture.
The Bauhaus style work produced
from 1919 to 1927, the competition design
for the Chicago Tribune tower,
the Sommerfeld House in Berlin,
and the 1926 Bauhaus school buildings in Dessau,
were the work of Gropius' firm using students as designers.
The Bauhaus approach evolved into the
international style of modern architecture
and by the 1930s had spread through
Europe and the United States.
The Nazi regime's closure of the school
and persecution of students and masters
forced many to flee Germany.
Architects such as Mies van der Rohe
and Richard Neutra employed the philosophy
of the Bauhaus in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
In 2004, the United Nations named Tel Aviv
to the list of World Heritage Sites
due to its abundance of Bauhaus architecture.
By the 1960s, Bauhaus modernism was under attack.
The tenets of simplicity and functionalism in the
hands of less skilled architects and the pursuit
of profit led to a sea of bland box buildings.
Architects shifted to ideas of postmodernism,
claiming that the Bauhaus philosophy was flawed
as it eliminated the human element.
The Bauhaus was a projection of Utopia
marked by mechanistic views of human nature.
It was simplicity and function
with no warmth or human touch.
But by the turn of the 21st century,
in response to the excess chaos
and complexity of the digital age,
Bauhaus modernism found a new respect
by architects and designers.
Today we expect the buildings we inhabit
and work in to be functional, elegant, and clean.
The world of gaudy gilded columns and
faux painted marble lives on television
reality shows that we now view as laughable.