Bauhaus : Eighty Years of Inspiration

Some of our favourite designers like Mies van der Rohe and even modern companies like Apple are part of the long legacy left by a school which only existed for 14 years in small town Germany.

What would a trip to Germany be without visiting the Bauhaus buildings? If you're heading there, don't miss Dessau, home to the Bauhaus from 1924-33. Book early and you can stay in the student hostel building (main photo). It's fitted out with all original Bauhaus furniture - very nice.

We were there recently to marvel at the clean angles of the buildings and the potent ideas that formed them.
The ideas of efficiency, quality and careful use of resources seem so relevant now, as ever. The minimalist forms of iconic designs like the Wassily chair are still so beautifully set in modern environments.

Unfortunately the Bauhaus movement didn't fare well under Nazi rule. Many members were publicly ridiculed, others died in camps. Walter Gropius and several of his contemporaries left Germany for The United States where their ideas where pivotal to the new wave of designers like Charles and Ray Eames.

Bauhaus ideals also influenced Danish modern designers, who exchanged the cold steel for warmer-feeling timbers. Designers continue to take reference from materials like tubular steel and concepts of extreme efficiency.

Bauhaus, Reference, Style, Modernist, Modernism, Inspiration