BAUHAUS

MODERNISM IN ARCHITECTURE

I’ve been wanting to write a blog on the Bauhaus for a while, but I have struggled to think of a decent enough thing to say on the topic. A few of my previous blogs have been on buildings, so what better way to sum up the ideology of the Bauhaus than its architecture, the very thing that started it. The Bauhaus was founded on the basis of functionality and simplicity, taking minimalism to a new level and this is very clear through the buildings that came from the designers who worked and studied there. I’ve chosen a few buildings that I like by different architects that really exhibit this style.

The first building I want to speak about is the Barcelona Pavilion, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich and opened in 1929. Mies van der Rohe designed so many buildings, but this is one that stands out to me and clearly many more. It is worth noting it was actually demolished quickly after it was built but was rebuilt in 1986 by a group of Catalan architects. While much of his later work was mostly large scale office buildings that I am not a huge fan of, this smaller scale pavilion is just so full of character and rooted in modern ideology. A simple example to sum up a simple concept. Designed essentially as an exhibition of the new Germany and its pioneering style, the simplicity and the blend of bold materials really make it an eye-catching structure.

Barcelona Pavilion Recreation, Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, 1929

The highlight of this building is the mix of materials. It was made from steel, concrete, glass and four different kinds of stone; Roman travertine, green Alpine marble, ancient green marble from Greece and golden onyx from the Atlas Mountains. It is essentially just a few of these thin stone walls, carefully positioned, propping up a painted steel and concrete roof. There is one large pool as you walk in initially and another smaller one hidden away inside designed to reflect not only the building but the environment around it.

Route of walking and viewing inside the pavilion

Exploded Roof View

As an exhibition pavilion, the structure doesn’t really have much purpose, only as a space that people could walk through. I suppose it might be easy to succeed at a purpose that is almost non-existent, but it truly does look like an interesting form. You can see the route you are supposed to take as you walk around, designed to give you a powerful visual experience where the interior structure and materials blend into the outdoor green backdrop.

Interior Space featuring Barcelona Chairs by Marcel Brueur

Dawn Sculpture by Georg Kolbe

As you walk you see the range of glistening stone materials mixed in with the natural backdrop and reflections from the two shallow pools. This is exemplified with the lack of contents inside the building. The main portion houses a mere few of his Barcelona chairs, designed for the same exhibition. Where they have perhaps become a more popular example of Bauhaus design, I feel the building they were originally housed in is an even greater display of this. In one far corner, in the smaller pool, a small sculpture sits. Again, reflected in the water and the glisten of the stone backdrops, supposed to give the sensation of it being multiplied in space.

The next building I want to talk about is now known as the Met Breuer, but originally opened as the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1966. It was designed by Marcel Breuer, perhaps most famously known for his Wassily chair which is another Bauhaus icon. A lot of Bauhaus buildings were very boxy, harnessing simple geometric shapes to make up the bulk of the structures. While a lot of buildings followed this method with lots of windows and natural light, this building stands out to me because it takes a different approach with a clear lack of this.

945 Madison Ave, Marcel Breuer, 1966

It takes this simplicity to the extreme. It is a really just a large block of granite sitting on the street corner. It almost creates a domineering presence on the street, especially with its jagged overhangs spreading out as it rises. It was supposedly designed to be a solid and permanent sanctuary for the art contained within it. This explains the bold approach of creating a facade with a clear lack of windows.

Interior

I think this works because it was designed to be a gallery, and what to galleries need? Wall space. You can still get a glimpse of the outside landscape from the inside, but it doesn’t take away from the contents of the exhibits. It doesn’t have excessive windows because it simply doesn’t need them. If they aren’t needed, then why bother? Function over form in full force. While it might have been a controversial opinion at the time, in a city with increasing numbers of glass skyscrapers and excessive windows on office buildings, it works because of the context. Perhaps if it were any other kind of building it wouldn’t be as effective, but for this it does seem to be effective. It really does look like a solid fortress housing its important contents. It’s a strong statement building that is there to stay.

I thought a good example to end off would be the Bauhaus School building in Dressau itself. It would arguably be the best example, as it housed students and teachers and saw the development of some of its most iconic designs within its walls.

Bauhaus School in Dessau, Walter Gropius, 1926

This building truly is simple, but a massive departure from buildings at the time. It isn’t as bold as the other examples I’ve chosen. It is a school building and not much more. Honestly not far off many modern school buildings you might have seen across the world in more recent years. The main focal point is the massive sheet glass window along the front of the school, giving you an insight into workshop rooms from the outside and allowing plenty of light into the space. It’s these windows and the new ways of manufacturing materials that ushered in this era of modern design that set the stage for what came next.

Workshop Interior

Staircase

You can see these windows at work in the interior studios. The hallways and staircases are also decorated with primary colours that are often closely associated with the movement, adding interest to the simple geometries that make it up the space. There’s no unnecessary decoration. Everything serves a purpose. While not my favourite example of architecture of this style it was a good sign of things to come. You can see how radical design like this sparked inspiration for generations of designers.

I feel these buildings give a good insight into the world of Bauhaus, while I knew of a few of these before it has been interesting to look further into this force in the design world. What strikes me is that everything you see from this movement is largely quite different. It stretched across many disciplines and is linked to such a wide range of work, but the same principles are echoed across them all. As materials and manufacturing continued to evolve so did this movement. It is clear to see that the fundamental ideas behind it have shaped much of the modern world around us, even if only in a small way. It is a style and mentality that is still very much present in the design world even 100 years on, so that must make it great design.