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The architecture of learning Richard Caston looks at the Bauhaus heritage The Bauhaus Heritage “The Bauhaus was an idea” (Mies van der Rohe)
became learners in their new assigned workshops, they were encouraged to engage in creative work alongside their students. Their own creative work became shaped by their pedagogical engagement, and their teaching became informed by their own creative work, evident in Paul Klee’s ‘Pedagogical Sketchbook’. This approach may have had its roots in medieval workshops, but Gropius set a number of guidelines for best practice that set the Bauhaus apart: • Experiment with materials • Develop form from function • Find clear design solutions • No decoration In 1924, state funding for the Bauhaus was first reduced and then, in 1933, the Bauhaus was forced to close by the National Socialists. In just 14 years, only 1250 students graduated. The Visual Arts Studio “Here there is no repetition, rather an endless episode of trials, experiments, constructions and productions” (Joachim Schlandt)
Bauhaus montage 2019 saw the centenary of the German school of art and design, the Bauhaus, an event celebrated across Germany with exhibitions, new publications and videos. Founded by the architect and first director Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus was financed by the government to give impetus to the rebirth of manufacturing in the new Weimar Republic after the First World War. Gropius brought the arts and crafts together into a new dynamic model more closely linked to industrial production. This required a radical rethink in the way artists and designers were educated, and what followed was a revolution, which helped to shape our world today. Gropius invited international teachers from the world of fine arts (such as painting and sculpture) as well as from the applied arts and crafts (such as weaving and cabinet making) to embrace a broad base of study in different workshops. The traditional hierarchy between the disciplines disappeared, and all the workshops were considered equal in importance. Crossdiscipline innovation was encouraged. Teaching staff were often assigned to workshops outside their expertise. For example, the painter Paul Klee was first assigned to the bookbinding workshop and later to the stained glass window workshop. As teachers also Spring
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The Visual Arts Studio at the International School of Düsseldorf (painting).
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