Dessau Bauhaus Design Analysis

In this paper I aim to examine the differences and similarities in the Weimar and Dessau Bauhaus periods by looking at the designs that are specific to the aforementioned movement. I intend to do this through the exploration of the formal and stylistic characteristics of the chosen design examples of the said movements. An analysis and discussion will accompany this paper in which the argument presented in this paper will be validated.
The design examples to be discussed are textile pieces by Gunta Stolzl (Untitled, Fig.1) and Anni Albers (Triple, Fig. 2), interior designs by Walter Gropius (Walter Gropius’s Office, Fig. 3) , (Director’s Office, Fig. 4), and Marcel Breuer’s furniture designs (Wassily chair, Fig. 5) and (B33 chair, Fig.6).

The school’s curriculum, which was devised by influential artists and designers of the time, placed a lot of emphasis on craft and inspired students to use their hands.
This can be seen in the work of Gunta Stolzl. Figure 1 shows a textile design piece by her that is woven by hand. The influence of the arts and crafts movement can be seen in this piece through the use of vivid colour and the combination of flowing curvy lines as opposed to the work of Anni Albers (Fig. 2), a student of the school in Dessau. Unlike Stlozl she uses a less striking colour palette of subdued browns, golds and silver to create a monotonous wall hanging. The use of simple shapes and repetition in the work create rhythm and balance, much like something that could be mass produced or made by a machine.
When the school moved from Weimar to Dessau, due to political pressure brought on by the Nazi regime, its focus changed completely. It no longer had craft at its core but rather placed more emphasis on practicallity and function, therefore producing works that a more

Though originally a school of art it later came to embrace all other forms of designs.
The school’s foundaTI
Though the Bauhaus has its roots in Weimar, where it operated from 1919 – 1925, it was in Dessau that before it made its move to Dessau in 1925, finally ending up in Berlin in 1932 due to political pressure brought on by the Nazi government. The reason for this, as Forgacs points out in her book; The Bauhaus Ideas and Bauhaus Politics , was that the school perpetuated communist values and did not adhere to Nazi morals and characteristics. Despite all this, the Bauhaus principles and influence thereof still managed to permeate through the rest of Europe and America.

The shift in the geographical location of the school also meant a shift in the approach to design. This resulted in the stylistic differences that can be seen in the work of Marcel Breuer
The Bauhaus in Weimar tended to lean towards more experimental approaches to design, which increased exponentially during Germany’s defeat in World War 1, whereas the Bauhaus in Dessau favoured rationality in which the form followed the function (Willet,1984: