Advanced Design Studio, Couture

BAUHAUS version 4.0

Synopsis

The focus of the studio will be a new building for the Bauhaus, to be located on the existing site of the Bauhaus in Dessau but firmly placed within the context of the early 21st century. The architectural proposals will be guided by the following aspects of Bauhaus philosophy: to merge art and industry, exploit the potential of new materials, techniques of fabrication and industrial technologies; to support experimentation; to abolish the distinction between the applied arts and fine arts and to embrace the multi-disciplinary.

The Bauhaus revisited

Building on earlier ideas established by the Werkbund, the Bauhaus furthered the notion that industrialization and mass-production were not at odds with the Arts. Bauhaus philosophy resisted the traditional hierarchical distinction between craftsmanship and mass production and embraced the reconciliation of the fine arts and the applied arts. Under Walter Gropius the academy of fine arts and the schools of architecture and craft were joined to form one school and the disciplines were no longer seen in hierarchical terms or as mutually exclusive.

Prior to the Bauhaus, the aesthetics of mass produced objects were increasingly the result of specialized engineers with no aesthetic interest or training. Bauhaus initiatives to merge the craft tradition with modern technology built upon the craftman’s almost fetishistic attention to the individual object and transformed a discipline contingent on manual skills to encompass the potential of the larger realm of mass-production. The convergence of aesthetic concerns with industry gave birth to the modern discipline of industrial design and affected all areas of the applied arts.

The Bauhaus endeavor to bring ideas of beauty to the products of industrialization was also reflected in the architecture of the Bauhaus school itself. The Dessau school is an expression of the most advanced use of materials and building technologies of the time. The impact of industry on the aesthetic as well as the performative aspects of architecture, first evidenced in Peter Behren’s design of the AEG factory, was further evolved with the architecture of the Bauhaus. This was exemplified by the reinvention of the function of the architectural enclosure. By virtue of advancements in engineering and the new possibilities of materials such as concrete, glass and steel, the structural framework could now be independent, recessed from the façade and concealed on the interior. The façade, no longer required to be load bearing was transformed into a taught transparent performative skin and liberated to respond to other functional as well as cultural programs.

The Bauhaus philosophy rejected the excessive stylistic tendencies and the indulgent expressionism that it saw as characteristic of previous eras. The counter aesthetics of Bauhaus architecture, variously referred to as minimalist, modernist, rational or objective was epitomized by Walter Gropius’ design for the Dessau buildings. This architecture, contingent on technological advancements of the time, was indicative of the Bauhaus vision for a new aesthetic and the bringing of architecture and design closer to the realities of the industrial age. The architecture of the Bauhaus however was ‘expressive’ not only of the integration of architecture with state of the art technological and material possibilities but also of its social and cultural aspirations.

In the Bauhaus spirit of innovation the studio will explore new opportunities for architectural expression within the potential of today’s new materials and technologies, the contemporary capabilities of surface modeling and digital fabrication, and industrial processes that can simultaneously satisfy demand for mass-production as well as the production of unique components. The proposals will speculate on a relevant formal language for a new Bauhaus situated within the overlap of the fine arts and architecture and informed by the disciplines of aeronautic, automotive, marine and industrial design. Lastly, the studio will challenge the false dichotomy that the rational aesthetic of the Bauhaus is in opposition to an expressive formal language and will develop a culturally relevant architectural language of contemporary technological performance.

Travel

The studio will travel to Berlin the week of September 21st. The itinerary includes visiting the Martin-Gropius-Bau to view the comprehensive “Bauhaus Model” exhibition as well as the exhibition “Le Corbusier: Art and Architecture”, a tour of the Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung, visit to the Behrens AEG building, a trip to the site in Dessau as well as a trip to Leipzig to visit Zaha Hadid’s BMW central plant building. There will be additional time in Berlin to visit galleries, museums and architectural sites as well as select artist studios.