Bauhaus movement and design principles

Bauhaus remains one of the most important design movements of the 20th century. Many of the core principles of Bauhaus have become fully integrated with design and development, influencing city planning and public art as well, because the fundamental principle of Bauhaus is the integration of design with everyday life. Architect Walter Gropius started the Bauhaus movement in 1919 Weimar. In 1925, Gropius moved Bauhaus's headquarters to Dessau. Simplicity of form and an embrace of industrialization were cornerstones to the Bauhaus movement as a whole, throughout its existence. However, there are several elements that distinguish the earlier Weimar Bauhaus from the Dessau Bauhaus.

Although Weimar is where Bauhaus began, Dessau is where Bauhaus matured. In Weimar, the groundwork was laid for the conceptualization of the new approach to art and design. The 1919 logo for the Bauhaus movement encapsulates the geometric elements that became a hallmark of Bauhaus. A circle encloses lines and rectangles to form the image of a human profile. Thus, Bauhaus signifies the use of simple and basic design elements in service of functionality. Unnecessary adornments are shunned in favor of the basics. For example, a chair designed by Marcel Breuer in 1920 exemplifies this early era of Bauhaus in Weimar. It is a simple chair in that the wooden frame is sharply linear. Only a few bands of fabric provide support for buttocks and back, showcasing the minimal elements required for an object to be called a "chair." A minimalist approach to art and design became the keynote of Bauhaus.

However, even during the Weimar period, the Bauhaus artists looked for ways to enhance the basic elements of their designs. A 1923 Bauhaus poster incorporates the original 1919 logo into a larger geometric composition. Solid blocks of color create absolute shapes including square and circle. Printed text is fully integrated with the geometric design, showing that Bauhaus is about the synthesis of all elements of life: art no longer needs to be segregated from the practical needs of existence. Bauhaus actually did encompass typeface design as part of its oeuvre. Moreover, this 1923 poster also imparts the sense of being an architectural blueprint. The shapes convey chairs and tables in their essential forms.

Looking at Herbert Bayer's 1923 symbol for the Kraus stained glass workshop also shows how Mondrian was rooted in Bauhaus sensibilities. A square provides the solid outline containing the rest of the stained glass form. Only three lines are on the inside, forming four segments (two rectangles and two squares). Bayer then drafted architectural drawings using similarly simple bisected squares and rectangles, revealing the fusion of art, design, and architecture.

When Bauhaus moved to Dessau in 1925, the first great architectural landmark of the movement was erected there for the official Bauhaus building. Bauhaus was always a concrete idea, about a "home" (haus) and building ("bau"). The 1925 edifice in Dessau encapsulated the culmination of Bauhaus work until that time. As a large rectangle, the Bauhaus building signaled simplicity of form. Yet other conjoining rectangles are emerging from the central rectangle, like Bayer's drafts. The bisecting lines form the rooms inside. Written vertically along the side of the building, the word "Bauhaus" appears in all uppercase using the sans-serif font that became characteristic of the movement.

Dessau was where Bauhaus incorporated business strategies into its overall mission (Meggs & Pervis, n.d.). Bauhaus members realized the importance of designing for the newly emerging mass consumption market. Previously, works of art, design, and furniture were produced one at a time by artisans. Now, the Bauhaus organization could design a prototype or a plan and offer that plan to the manufacture. The manufacturer would then be able to mass-produce many items in exactly the same way. Thus, the Bauhaus mentality was "art for the masses," bringing sensible and attractive design to the common person. This is why so many Bauhaus designs are for practical objects rather than useless ones.

The Dessau Bauhaus also changed the materials with which things were made. Steel and other modern materials became incorporated into household furniture. Breuer's original char design from his Weimar years evolved to incorporate steel in his "tubular steel chair" designs. These were similar to his Weimar chairs, but are actually more streamlined and elegant with a greater surface area of the material used to support the back and behind. Aluminum also became a common Bauhaus material during the productive Dessau years.