Critical studies lecture - Dessau Bauhaus - the academy of art and design.

CRITICAL STUDIES

LECTURE BY: TANG

DATE 29.05.13

• INTRODUCTION:It turns out that Bauhaus is not just a pretty font. To the surprise of many [1] there is a long and interesting history to it.
  The Bauhaus school was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar [2].The style became one of the most influential currents in Modernist architecture and modern design. The Bauhaus had a profound influence upon subsequent developments in art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design and typography. [3]
  
• THE DESSAU BAUHAUS BUILDING [4]:Famous building in the history of architecture
  Very modern building in an older city.
  Thinking but not reinventing (?)
  Asymmetry of the building rather than conforming to 'normal' building type.
  Functionality
  The building contains a Workshop, a Technical school, Student accommodation,Admin and staff areas.
  Each of the buildings of the above departments is interlinked.
  Walls of glass embody cubist fundamentals. The interpenetration of space is achieved through the use of facades and walls of glass.  The light of the sun was taken into account when the building was designed but the huge amounts of glass meant that there were also huge amounts of heat.
  The building interiors are open spaces rather than enclosed rooms with wide spaces on the stairwells [5]
  
• ASSORTED MISCELLANY:Hanging a radiator from the walls of stairs ways is a deliberate parody of the custom to have a painting there. [6]The painting of the structure is very Paul Mondrian. That is to say, blocky and functional.
  
  An interesting fact is that the building was abandoned by the artistic community during the war and, to the surprise of exactly nobody, the Nazi hordes didn't like the flat roof much.  They occasionally made plans to cover the roof with something more traditional however nothing ever actually happened. [7]

• CONFESSION TIME:It occurs to me that this is the second time in as many posts that I've made some pretty judgmental cracks about the Nazis. Therefore I’d like to take this opportunity to say that I respect people of all nations, creeds and political persuasions and feel certain that their members can take a little bit of goodnatured humor directed their way.[8]

NOTES:

1. Mainly me.
2. Still no word on exactly who losted it.
3. This bit was pinched from the Wikipedia article. 
4. This bit is all over the place but all the information is from a documentary that is available on Youtube.
5. Clearly this would be a good building to secure in the event of a zombie apocalypse
6. You need a special sense of humor to get this joke. I think that we could be friends
7. Think that this is a non-issue for people to get worked up about? Try reading about Mary Whitehouse and you’ll realize that people can get worked up about anything.
8. When it comes to Nazis however that all goes out the window. Nazi’s can go fuck themselves.