Bauhaus designs revisited
At the beginning of the 20th century, revolutionary designers gathered around Walter Gropius and established the Bauhaus movement. An exhibition in Bonn explores what makes the iconic style so timeless.
Everyday objects turned into design
The term "designer" wasn't in use when these architects, painters, musicians and stage artists met in Weimar to create what would become Bauhaus. At the beginning of the 20th century, Germans called design "Alltagskunst" - everyday art. Bauhaus artists experimented with new production methods. This 1935 photo documents the "Fitting of a compressed adapter sleeve in two tube elements."
Iconic, but not very functional
Wilhelm Wagenfeld was only 24 when he designed this lamp in 1924. It is one of the first objects to integrate the strict functionalist principles of Bauhaus. Ironically, the model was not adapted to the heat of the light bulb, causing the glass lamp shade to break. Since 1980, the company Tecnolumen has been producing the only authorized version of this Bauhaus classic.
The revolutionary chess set
This chess set designed by Josef Hartwig in 1923 is another icon of the Bauhaus style. He replaced the traditional monarchic and religious figures of the game with minimalist, abstract forms, inspired by the pieces' different board moves. The packaging was just as carefully designed by Joost Schmidt.
From handicraft to industrial product
At the beginning, Bauhaus furniture designs were hand-made pieces. Marcel Breuer's slatted chair, created in 1922, was the first one to be produced with standardized components and to go into serial production. Marcel Breuer was also the one who designed the steel tubular furniture featured in this picture.
Well-designed objects as a fundamental right
Bauhaus designers aimed to revolutionize people's everyday lives. They worked with clear lines in opposition to the musty style of the Biedermeier period. Industrialization also allowed the serial production of objects with flexible components, creating new standards for the general population.
A new photo based on an old one
Photographer Adrian Sauer, in collaboration with Wilfried Kuehn, reconstructed the interior of the Bauhaus Direktorenhaus, inspired by a historical photo from 1926. Color photography did not exist at the time, so they had to research the colors that would have been typically used to recreate this office and produce their own photos.
Bauhaus for everybody
All you need is 25,000 Lego blocks to build this Bauhaus sideboard. Originally designed by the Dutch furniture designer Gerrit Rietveld in the 1920s, the contemporary designers Kuniko Maeda and Mario Minale created a limited five-piece edition reproducing it with the famous building blocks.
Inspiration Bauhaus
The exhibition "The Bauhaus - It's All Design," held at the Art and Exhibition Hall in Bonn until August 14, illustrates the influence of Bauhaus on the following generations of designers. "Pipe table and chair" (2009), by the German-Serbian star designer Konstantin Grcic, combines the concepts of the time with today's aesthetics. The design is clear, functional - and hopefully comfortable.