Bauhaus: A Failed Utopia? | Hacker News Reader

Bauhaus: A Failed Utopia?

the-easel.com

45 pointsbookofjoe9 comments

I don't think Bauhaus failed, at all. It's influence lives on in the design of many buildings, especially in Europe. For example, Frankfurt kitchens.

The fact that it has blended so well into mainstream architecture is a testament of its success.

Bauhaus was also highly influential to kick off Scandinavian mid-century design.

The HfG Ulm was the successor, founded by former Bauhaus student Max Bill who was also a very important figure in Swiss design.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulm_School_of_Design

It's safe to say that architecture, graphic, product and industrial design wouldn't be what it is without the influence of the Bauhaus, the influence is everywhere.

1. "utopia" literally means "no place." 2. Bauhaus design affordances are geared toward humans-as-machines 3. Bauhaus design has become ubiquitous. Ergo, human-humans have no place. Ergo, Bauhaus succeeded in building a utopia all around us and in our homes. (Florescent light flickers on after Alexa and Siri fight for the privilege)

Side note about 1: utopia is a pun. The "u" doubles as a transliteration of the prefixes eu- and ou-, meaning "good place" and "no place" respectively.

I find it curious that the Bauhaus movement is celebrated over and over while other significant art and design movements, like the Wiener Werkstätte, are seldom mentioned.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiener_Werkst%C3%A4tte

That opened my eyes. A lot falls into place. See more of the now-familiar visual language they pioneered, which seems to intersect a big with the Craftsman movement.

https://www.theviennasecession.com/a-history/

Is sad to know how the actual style differs so much to the original. I usually see the modern architecture and design and perceive it as a cold, spirit lacking functional thing. The start of this project was a more socialy sustainable utopy but it became a much simplier praise for materials and geometry.

Have no idea how this ended up in HN, but I’m delighted. It’s a wonderfully interesting re-introduction to a subject I didn’t know as well as I thought I did.

Just recently I read about Frankfurt Kitchens on HN. HN seems to be more topic-diverse than I expected.

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