Modern Approach To The Design example essay topic

Introduction The architectural movements of the twentieth century have produced numerous landmark building of immense historical significance. Modernism has become a term that requires definition, in architecture and other disciplines. "Bauhaus modernism" is characterized in terms of period, location, ideas, and formal considerations. The contribution of Modernism and modern deign would traced back to The Bauhaus and its founder Walter Gropius. Apart from the central iconic buildings, there has many symbolic importance achieves that goes well beyond the architecture. WALTER GROPIUS (1883-1969) Walter Gropius was born in Berlin in 1883, he came from a family of architects, designed the Bauhaus after an apprenticeship in the office of Peter Behrens.

Gropius was appointed Director of the Bauhaus in 1919 where established in Weimar, Germany. His early design, with his long-time partner ADOLF Meyer, for the Chicago Tribune Tower (1922) PRESAGES THE International Style, but his Fagus Shoe Factory! V also designed with Meyer- precedes and predicts the Bauhaus. Designed and built between 1911 and 1925, the Fagus Factory bears pronounced similarities to the Bauhaus, although it relied structurally on brick rather than concrete. It is a serious, purposeful structure which was intended reflect its mission; with its concentrated focus on education artists and designers to produce design work for the new modern industrial age. The building embraced at once both artistry and technology and as such it had a symbolic importance that went beyond the structure itself.

From 1938 to 1941, he worked on a series of houses with Marcel Breuer and in 1945 he founded "The Architect's Collaborative" in USA. It is believed that Gropius created innovative designs that borrowed materials and methods of construction from modern technology. There were many other masterpieces that created by Gropius such as Gropius House, Lincoln, Massachusetts in 1937, Harvard Graduate Center, Cambridge in 1950. The stylistic simplicity of Gropius's works seemed fulfilled simultaneously the aesthetic, functional, and represented demands that the economy placed on the new architecture.

They were innovative and gave the impression of being exclusive. The rationality and clarity of the geometric forms appealed to finance's desire for control and power. The Bauhaus and Its Theory The Bauhaus literally meaning 'building house' in German promoted cross-disciplinary collaboration, thinking outside the square and working with industry for commercial applications. These ideas, which were integral to making the Bauhaus revolutionary in its time, are as pertinent for creative professionals today.

In 1919 The Bauhaus was founded in Weimar, Germany where Walter Gropius were uniting the Weimar Art Academy and Henry van de Velde's School of industrial Arts, which had been found in 1915. In 1925 the school was moved to Dessau, in 1932 it was moved to Berlin and dissolved in 1933. Bauhaus manifesto committed it to forgoing all forms of art into a single whole, to bring back together all artistic disciplines - sculpture, painting, arts and crafts, and manual trades- and making them integral components of a new art of building'. During the years between the two World Wars, Germany was in a state of cultural, political and economical turmoil.

The theory that the Bauhaus underlined was to promoted the design to assist industry and society where required motivation and inspiration through producing functional, economic and aesthetically pleasing products for mass production. When the Bauhaus during the period in Dessau, the curriculum was reorganised, and aligned more closely with the needs of industry, also The Bauhaus Corporation was formed to market prototype products to local industries. The main principles of the unity between arts' was enunciated and the school opened with 207 students and initially offered workshops and classes and combined art with engineering and craftsmanship. At the end of the century, the Bauhaus remains a remarkable cultural historical phenomenon.

Innovations and Influence of The Bauhaus The Bauhaus innovations were the employment of metal tubes in the design of furniture, with highly polished surfaces, made interesting by texture rather than by decoration. In Bauhaus, with all this innovations, it could be demonstrated that the arts and crafts had been brought together in a unified whole which emphasized the collaborative nature of the many arts connected with building. Abstract Expression Art and Op Art were had its roots from The Bauhaus. Bauhaus architecture flourished throughout European country and had a deep influence in America where the International Style began. The experiments in mass production, the concept of the industrial design and the standard design were influenced the modern approach to the design today. Through the influence in education and in practice, Bauhaus brought not only the concepts of the modernism of architecture but also from all aspects of art and design where involved with interior design, furniture design, graphic design and beyond.

The Group's Approach The approach of our group will be focused on a deep research of the Walter Gropius and its influences. The main scheme design, the interiors, the compositional elements and con- struction process as well as the designer's motivation, philosophy and his influences will be included in this research. Also, we will be working on a main discussion of the issues which help us to develop our design work in the future. The group discussion and tasks sharing of research finding will be performed through out this project.

Bibliography

Gropius, Walter. Bauhausbauten Dessau, Bauhaus Book No. 12, Munich, 1930.
Bayer, H et al. 50 years Bauhaus, catalog of the exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1986.
Gropius, Walter. The Scope of Total Architecture, London. 1956.
Winger, H.M. The Bauhaus: Weimar Dessau Berlin Chicago, Cambridge, Mass. 1969.