Bauhaus◎Definition:

Bauhaus (1919/4/1-1933/7) is the "public Bauhaus school" in Weimar, Germany (Staatliches Bauhaus), later renamed "Design School" (Hochschule fur Gestaltung), and it is still customary to call it "Bauhaus".

The word "Bauhaus" was coined by Gropius. It is a transliteration of the German Bauhaus and an inversion of the German word Hausbau (house architecture).

A design school established in Germany in 1919, it was the first school in the world established entirely for the development of design education.

◎Introduction:

The Bauhaus has experienced three stages of development:

The first stage (1919-1925), the Weimar period. Walter Gropius served as the principal, proposing the lofty ideal of "a new unity of art and technology" and shouldering the sacred mission of training designers and architects in the 20th century. He recruited talents widely, hired artists and craftsmen to teach, and formed a new education system that combined art education and handicraft production;

The second stage (1925-1932), the Dessau period. The Bauhaus was rebuilt in Dessau, Germany, and carried out curriculum reform. It implemented a teaching method that integrated design and production teaching, and achieved excellent results. Gropius resigned as principal of the Bauhaus in 1928 and was succeeded by HANNS MEYER, chairman of the Department of Architecture. This architect, who was a communist, expanded the artistic radicalism of the Bauhaus into political radicalism, thus causing the Bauhaus to face increasing political pressure. Finally, Meyer himself had to resign in 1930 and was succeeded by L MIES VAN DE ROHE. Mies, who took over, faced the pressure from the Nazi forces and tried his best to maintain the operation of the school. Finally, after the Nazis occupied Dessau in October 1932, they were forced to close the Bauhaus;

The third stage ( 1932-1933), Berlin period. L. Mies van der Rohe moved the school to an abandoned office building in Berlin in an attempt to regroup. Since the Bauhaus spirit was not tolerated by the German Nazis, Mies was finally helpless in the face of the Nazi government that had just come to power. In August of that year it was announced that the Bauhaus would be permanently closed. In November 1933, the Bauhaus was closed and had to end its 14-year development process.

The Bauhaus was formed by the merger of the Weimar Art School and the Polytechnic School, with the purpose of cultivating new design talents. Although the Bauhaus is called an architecture school, there was no architecture major until 1927. There were only textiles, ceramics, metalworking, glass, sculpture, printing and other subjects. Therefore, the Bauhaus was mainly a design school. In design theory, Bauhaus put forward three basic viewpoints: ① The new unity of art and technology; ② The purpose of design is people rather than products; ③ Design must follow natural and objective laws. These views have played a positive role in the development of industrial design, making modern design gradually move from idealism to realism, that is, using rational and scientific ideas to replace artistic self-expression and romanticism.

The Bauhaus teaching time is three and a half years. After entering the school, students must undergo basic training for half a year, and then enter the workshop to learn various practical skills. The Bauhaus was different from the Arts and Crafts movement in that it was not hostile to machines, but tried to establish extensive ties with industry. This was both a requirement of the times and a necessity for survival. When the Bauhaus was founded, with the support of Gropius, some of the most radical artists in Europe came to teach at the Bauhaus, which made the popular ideological trends at the time, especially expressionism, play an important role in the early theory of the Bauhaus. Influence. The early basic course teachers at the Bauhaus included the Russian Kandinsky, the Americans Feininger, the Swiss Klee and Eaton, among others. Among them, Kandinsky served as a painting teacher in the metal and wood products workshop of the Morris Institute of Education.

This shows that Bauhaus has matured in industrial design.

In the furniture workshop of the Bauhaus, Breuer created a series of highly influential steel tube chairs, opening a new chapter in modern furniture design. Although there is still controversy as to who first thought of using steel tubes to make furniture, there is no doubt that the Bauhaus first realized the idea of ??steel tube furniture and carried out industrial production. These steel tube chairs make full use of the properties of the material, are light and elegant in shape, and have a simple structure, making them a typical representative of modern design.

In 1928, due to various pressures, especially the unprovoked attacks by right-wing forces on the progressive thought of the Bauhaus, Gropius resigned as principal of the Bauhaus. Gropius continued to design industrial products after leaving office. The "Adler" car designed in 1930 is a typical example of the functionalist styling principles of the 1920s. Although the design of the car emphasized practical functions and geometric principles, it failed to be mass-produced. This shows that if the design only considers function and production, and ignores other factors, such as consumers' desire for symbolism, fun, etc. If the demand is met, the design will be difficult to succeed.

After Gropius left the Bauhaus, architect Hannes Meyer became its principal. After taking office, Meyer placed more emphasis on the close relationship between products and consumers, design and society, and strengthened the connection between design and industry. Under his leadership, Bauhaus workshops received a large number of corporate design commissions. In 1930, Meyer and Gropius were forced to resign for the same reason, and Mies became the third president. Mies is a famous architect who proposed the famous saying "less is more" in 1928. In 1929 he designed the German Tube for the World's Fair in Barcelona. The building itself and the Barcelona Chair he designed for it established milestones in modern architecture and design. Like Breuer, Mies was also good at designing steel tube chairs. In 1927, he designed the famous Weissenhoff chair.

After Mies arrived at the Bauhaus, on the one hand, he prohibited students from engaging in political life, and on the other hand, he strengthened academic research focusing on architectural design, bringing the school back to life. But by October 1932 the Nazis took control of Dessau and closed the Bauhaus. Mies, teachers and students had no choice but to move the school to Berlin in an attempt to revive. Later, as Hitler's National Socialist Party came to power and the Gestapo occupied the school, the Bauhaus finally announced its official dissolution in July 1933, thus ending its 14-year history of running the school. During this period, 1,250 students and 35 full-time teachers studied and worked at the Bauhaus. After the school was disbanded, members of the Bauhaus brought Bauhaus ideas to other countries, especially the United States. In a certain sense, the ideas of Bauhaus were fully realized in the United States. Gropius came to the United States in 1937 to serve as the chairman of the Department of Architecture at Harvard University and established the Concorde Design Office; Breuer also arrived in the United States at the same time and worked with Gropius on architectural creations; Mies He came to the United States in 1938 and served as a professor in the Department of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology; Nagy established the New Bauhaus in Chicago in 1937. The school was established as a continuation of the Bauhaus and introduced a new method to the Creative education in the United States, but most graduates of this school are employed as artists, craftsmen, and teachers rather than industrial designers. The New Bauhaus later merged with the Illinois Institute of Technology.

The promoter of the modernist school "Bauhaus School"

Bauhaus's contribution to modern industrial design is huge, especially its design education has a profound impact. Its teaching methods have become the basis of art education in many schools around the world, and the outstanding architects and designers it has trained have pushed modern architecture and design to new heights. In contrast, the actual industrial products designed by the Bauhaus were not significant in terms of scope or quantity. In the overall design development process of Germany, one of the world's major industrial countries, the products of the Bauhaus did not play an important role. play a crucial role. The influence of the Bauhaus lies not in its actual achievements but in its spirit. The ideas of the Bauhaus were for some time regarded as a classic of modernism. However, the limitations of Bauhaus were gradually recognized, and its negative impact on industrial design was criticized.

For example, in pursuit of new, industrial-era expressions, the Bauhaus overemphasized abstract geometric figures in design. "The cube is God", no matter what kind of product or material, geometric shapes are adopted, thus embarking on the path of formalism, sometimes even destroying the use function of the product. This shows that the meaning of "standards" and "economy" of Bauhaus is more in the aesthetic sense, so the "function" emphasized is also highly abstract. In addition, the strict geometric shape and the pursuit of industrial materials give the product a sense of indifference and lack of human touch. The Bauhaus actively advocates design for the general public. However, because the design aesthetics of the Bauhaus are abstract and profound, they can only be appreciated by a few intellectuals and wealthy elites. To this day, many Bauhaus products are still expensive and can only be regarded as a symbol of aesthetic standards and social status. Mies's Barcelona chair is a typical example, selling for hundreds of dollars.

The most common criticism of the Bauhaus was directed at the so-called "International" style. Although Gropius opposed any form of style, because the Bauhaus advocated breaking with tradition and promoting geometric composition, it actually eliminated the regional nature of design, and the historical context of various countries and nations was ignored. In addition, some buildings The master misinterpreted the essence of Bauhaus, replaced creation with plagiarism, and formed an "international" style that was the same for everyone. Box-shaped buildings characterized by flat roofs, white walls, and long windows are popular all over the world. They have had a huge impact on the architectural culture of various countries and have been widely criticized.

No matter how many reservations there are about the Bauhaus, its huge influence is beyond reproach. The elites gathered under Gropius all have their own distinct personalities, but they have also developed a strong independence. When they immigrated from the Third Reich, they all carried the belief of authenticity and spread the ideas of Bauhaus in their respective places where they worked or taught and made them flourish.

Historical contributions of the Bauhaus:

1. Emphasis on collective working methods to overcome personal barriers in art education and lay the foundation for corporate work.

2. Emphasis on standards to break the careless liberalization and non-standardization of art education.

3. Try to establish a new education system based on science, emphasizing the combination of scientific and logical working methods and artistic expression. The above points have shifted the focus of teaching from a more personal art education system to a science and engineering system

4. Shift the focus of education, which has always been focused on "creative appearance" in design To "solve problems", design for the first time got rid of the shortcomings of playing with form and moved towards truly providing a convenient, practical, economical and beautiful design system, laying a solid foundation for the development of modern design.

5. Based on the experiments of Belgian designer Henry van de Velde, various studios were created, such as gold, wood, ceramics, textiles, photography, etc. It has united a group of accomplished artists and designers to get involved in design and build design education on the basis of science.

6. Breaking the framework of the old academic art education, Johnny Eaton, an important Bauhaus teacher and color expert, founded the "Basic Course" in 1920. Before that, there was no such thing as a basic course. At the same time, it created a way to combine large-scale industrial production, laying the foundation for the development of modern design education.

7. Cultivated a group of professionals who are familiar with traditional crafts and combined with modern industrial production methods and design rules, forming a concise aesthetic style suitable for large machine production methods, integrating the characteristics of modern industrial products Design is taken to the next level.

Founding purpose:

The word "BauHaus" is a combination of the German verb "bauen" to build and the noun "haus". It is roughly understood as "for architecture" "School" reflects the ideas in the minds of its founders:

1. Establish the dominant position of architecture in the design forum,

2. Raise craftsmanship to an equal position with the visual arts , thereby weakening the traditional class division,

3. Responding to the creed of the "German Industrial League" founded in Munich in 1907, that is, "improving industrial products through the cooperation of artists, industrialists and craftsmen

Influence:

It has always been known as the most influential and controversial art school in the 20th century. At that time, it was the center of utopian thought and spirit. It created the educational concept of modern design and achieved irrefutable excellence in the theory and practice of art education. The history of Bauhaus is the birth of modern design and the process of building bridges between art and mechanical technology, two very different categories. Whether in architecture, fine arts, or industrial design, the Bauhaus occupies a dominant position.

Bauhaus’s concept of design education:

1. Technology and art should be harmonious and unified

2. Visual sensitivity reaches a rational level

3. Have a scientific and technical understanding of materials, structures, textures, and colors

4. Collective work is the core of design

5. Artists, entrepreneurs, technology Personnel should work closely together

6. Students’ assignments should be closely integrated with corporate projects

Limitations of the Bauhaus school

1. Although Bauhaus has great influence on modern The design movement has made a huge contribution, but it cannot solve all problems. The Bauhaus style was once called the Internationalist style. However, because it cannot reflect national cultural characteristics, it is called a design language without national boundaries.

After World War II, with the rapid development of the Western economy and the improvement of people's living standards, producers and consumers in various countries are no longer satisfied with a single international style.

2. Any design is a part of the overall cultural system of society. It is interrelated and affects other parts. Therefore, the formation and development of styles and genres are inevitably affected by the technological level of the era. and the influence of academic thought.

Representative works:

Gropius designed the Fagus Shoe Factory (1910-1911)

Works by L. Mies van der Rohe :

Department of Architecture and Design, Illinois Institute of Technology (1956)

Seagram Building, New York (1956-1958, in collaboration with Philip Johnson)

"Barcelona" chair 1929 "Mr." chair 1927

Marcel Breuer designed leisure chair (1928-1929) Vasily armchair 1925