Bauhaus Art by the group at the school
The Grand Stand of design happened in the early 20th century. The guilty? The Bauhaus. So, what came before? Gradual economic and social changes in the 18th and 19th century caused by the Industrial Revolution. Because of those events, the Bauhaus, a school of different ways of thinking, changed how we viewed and developed art and technology. We are talking about, let’s say for an art example, a painting, and for technology, the Bauhaus balconies or a chair or a teapot and more stuff than you can imagine.
László Moholy-Nagy- ‘Bauhaus Balconies’
1926
Silver gelatin photograph
The idea for the school was the gestalt of a learning atmosphere for all, the teacher, the student, and the creator. They all were involved with the process. Triggered by 19th century technological-industrial development, there was no gap between artistic conception and realization. It became easier to design and develop because everyone worked together.
Bauhaus "Wassily" Chair by Marcel Breuer
For example, another member of the staff at the Bauhaus, Marcel Breuer, looked at the tubular form of the bicycle handlebars and made a chair using the concept. No, it wasn’t a chair with pedals. It was a chair with tubular steel supports.
Hi Gail,
Where else … Haight Ashbury! The building has huge maniquin legs sticking out … google it … I have a photo of it somewhere. If I can find it, I will send it to you. That entire area is amazing. I really love some of the architecture in San Fran. BTW, I do have a pic of the Pompidou … somewhere. I moved 10 times in 7 years (twice across the country) and some things never get unpacked. Gerri
Hey Gail, Have you seen the building in Paris that has all the pipes on the outside of the building? There is also a building in San Francisco that has legs sticking out of it. I have to admit, I found the building in Paris interesting. I’m going to see if I can find the picture I took of that one. I like thinking outside the box … so all this is interesting.
Hi Gerri, Thank you.
Centre Pompidou
Functional Design
Yes, I am familiar with this structure. It was innovative in 1971 and won a competition of 650 entries for a new cultural center. The architects Richard Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini broke with conventional architecture by moving the escalators, water pipes and air conditioning to the outside of the building, freeing interior space for the display of art works. The pipes and ducts are all color-coded: blue for air, green for water, red for elevators, yellow for electricity, gray for corridors and white for the building itself.
The construction of the glass and metal building in the centrally located Beaubourg neighborhood ran into a lot of opposition from people who disliked the idea of an ‘oil refinery’ in a historic district. But when the museum opened in December 1977, it became an instant success: originally designed to accommodate some 5,000 visitors per day, the Centre Pompidou has been welcoming over 25,000 visitors per day making it one of the most visited attractions in Paris.
Please tell me about the building in San Francisco. I am not familiar with one that has legs sticking out. If you like these unusual public works of art, check out architecture in Holland. Or have you been there?
PJ, You always see beyond, don’t you? Yes, the Bauhaus changed the face of “the chair”, art, technology, design, just about everything everywhere. Although most really prefer staying inside the box, the Bauhaus has exposed the world to other ways of thinking outside the box. Thank you.
Wow Gail! Who knew? A chair is hardly just a chair anymore, is it?