On April 1, 1919, the Bauhaus School of Arts and Crafts opened its doors for the first time. Today, 100 years later, we pay tribute to the influence this iconic school had on architecture, industrial design, textiles, graphic design, and typography.
Throughout 2019, Germany is celebrating the centennial of the inauguration of the Staatliches Bauhaus (German for “state-run house under construction”). The Bauhaus, as it is known today, was an academic educational project dedicated to artistic creation that established a new language characterized by simple lines, flat colors, and unfinished materials. It was an innovative school that integrated the arts, crafts, and experimental architecture.
Its origins are linked to the founding of the Weimar Republic, a period in German history following World War I that was marked by political and economic instability. In this context, the Bauhaus represented a bold attempt to promote social integration. Women and foreigners were able to participate freely and on an equal footing at the new school—a novelty for traditional German society.
It was founded by the architect Walter Gropius with the aim of overcoming social divisions in creative work. For Gropius, the work of the craftsman and the artist held equal value, since that value lay in the ideas rather than in the objects they produced.
In the 1920s, German society viewed the students of the Bauhaus as eccentric and outlandish, whereas today their work is considered one of the most influential artistic movements of the 20th century. Today, more than 4,000 students travel annually to the school’s campus in Dessau to learn about the legacy of those unique artists-in-training.
The political and social unrest characteristic of the era led the Bauhaus to relocate twice during its 14 years of operation. The first was in Weimar in 1919. Then, in 1925, it moved to Dessau, where it reached the height of its creative output under professors such as Mies van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer, László Moholy-Nagy, Wassily Kandinsky, and Paul Klee. The final location was established in Berlin until 1933, under the direction of Mies van der Rohe, where it was ultimately taken over by the Nazi Party, which labeled the school’s students and professors as degenerate artists.
However, what was intended to be a decisive blow to the school had the opposite effect. The closure of the Bauhaus led to the departure of many of its teachers and students from Germany, which in turn caused its ideas to spread and flourish around the world.
Uruguay was also influenced by the artistic movements that emerged from the legendary school. According to Dr. Pablo Frontini, an architect and project design instructor in the Architecture program at the Faculty of Architecture of Universidad ORT Uruguay:
“The Bauhaus has had a profound influence on the world, and in many cases that influence continues to this day. Uruguay is no exception.”
In many ways, the fundamental philosophical, aesthetic, and architectural principles championed by the leading Bauhaus instructors underlie the design of much of the modern architecture that defines the identity of numerous urban spaces and streetscapes in our cities.
"Precision, economy, rigor, and universality are among the core values taught by the German school, which architects in Uruguay during the second half of the 20th century had embraced from the very start of their training."
An inexhaustible legacy
Bauhaus philosophy is considered the catalyst for 20th-century ideas that have carried over into the 21st century. With their unique aesthetic and graphic style, Bauhaus designs are now regarded as benchmarks for graphic, industrial, textile, mechanical, architectural, and urban design.
Architect Carla Nóbile, professor of the History and Theory of Architecture department and editor-in-chief of the journal Anales de Investigación en la Arquitectura, part of the Faculty of Architecture at Universidad ORT Uruguay her insights on the influence of the Bauhaus today.
Why was the Bauhaus so important to the development of modern design?
“It is impossible to think about modern art, architecture, and design without at some point referring to the Bauhaus. The transformation it brought about in the teaching of these disciplines was profound. The quest for work that reflected the spirit of its time, the ‘new man,’ and the new modern society laid the groundwork for other schools that followed its example.”
“Furthermore, the involvement of leading figures in each discipline—whether as directors, faculty members, or guest speakers—also underscores the quality of the education provided there.”
What is it about the Bauhaus that remains relevant today?
“The most important thing is, without a doubt, the legacy it left in the history of modern design. Its short existence did not prevent it from becoming one of the fundamental points of reference for studying, researching, and understanding the production of modern art, architecture, and design. The school’s own history, dating back to its founding, is also of interest to the academic community, as its archives have become a rich source of material that has been preserved over time.”
Why is the Bauhaus important for architecture students today?
“I believe that an architecture student must understand the discipline from all its different angles. Contemporary design—which is probably the aspect that most captures a student’s interest—would be impossible to understand without reference to the changes that took place during the modern era, and here again the Bauhaus emerges as a bastion of those transformations.”
In which areas of design did the Bauhaus have the greatest influence?
“It’s hard to choose just one aspect, but in my opinion, it would be the incorporation of applied or decorative arts as elements of modern design—aesthetically refined, yet industrially and mass-produced. In those terms, one can still understand the logic behind the production of design objects today.”