Hasta La Ideas

News: visitors to the museum at the Dessau campus of the Bauhaus can now spend the night in the dormitories of the former German Modernist design school (+ slideshow).

Guests can book accommodation in the Studio Building once occupied by architecture and design students at the Bauhaus campus in Dessau, Germany, which is now a museum dedicated to the movement.

Visitors stay in one of the 28 rooms in the building, which were once let to junior masters and promising students.

Previous inhabitants include Marcel Breuer, Josef Albers, Erich Consemüller, Herbert Bayer, Franz Ehrlich, Walter Peterhans, Hannes Meyer and Joost Schmidt, plus Marianne Brandt, Gertrud Arndt, Gunta Stölzl and Anni Albers on the “ladies floor”.

The 24-square-metre studio flats are starkly decorated and minimally furnished. Boarders have to use the communal bathrooms and showers like the residents in the 1920s would have done.

One single room has been accurately reconstructed with the original furnishings, while others have been kitted-out with work by their previous occupants.

Prices start from €35 per night for a single room, while a double room on a Friday or Saturday night costs €60.

The Bauhaus school was founded by Modernist German architect Walter Gropius in 1919 and was originally located in Weimar.

The campus was relocated to Dessau in 1925, where the iconic listed building was constructed in the Modernist style. The school was then moved again to Berlin in 1932 before closing down in 1933.

Photographs are courtesy of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and are all by Yvonne Tenschert unless otherwise stated.

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Architects Carmody Groarke and graphic designers A Practice For Everyday Life used Bauhaus-style colours and typography for the design of an exhibition about the celebrated art school at the Barbican gallery in London.

While some of the photography and artworks are arranged on boldly-coloured wall panels, others are juxtaposed at awkward angles that create unusual foreshortening.

A contemporary reinterpretation of Bauhaus letterpress typeface Breite Grotesk captions the entire exhibition.

Carmody Groarke have designed a few exhibitions for London galleries over the last couple of years. See our earlier stories about Drawing Fashion at The Design Museum and The Surreal House, which was also at the Barbican.

Photography is by Luke Hayes.

Here’s some more information from Carmody Groarke:

Carmody Groarke and APFEL – Bauhaus: art as life, Barbican

In the latest in a series of acclaimed collaborations, architectural studio Carmody Groarke and graphic design agency A Practice for Everyday Life (APFEL) have worked together on the exhibition design for Bauhaus: Art as Life, opening on 3 May 2012.

Containing over 400 works from the world’s most prestigious and extensive Bauhaus collections, the exhibition presents an in-depth exploration of the School’s 14 year history, focusing particularly upon the lives of its students and staff and the vibrant, inventive community they created.

Challenged to contextualise the works on display whilst avoiding pastiche, they have designed an architectural installation of elemental forms that both compliments and enhances the exhibition’s contents.

Barbican Art Gallery has been spacially reinterpreted to create a bespoke viewing experience for its visitors, encouraging thought-provoking juxtapositions and interpretations of the exhibition’s contents.

Graphically, the exhibition’s design has been informed by an awareness of the Bauhaus’ own principles of colour, structure and typography. Vibrantly-painted walls, bold panels and supergraphics draw together objects, themes and ideas, and the typeface used throughout the exhibition, FF Bau, is a contemporary revival of Breite Grotesk, the letterpress typeface largely used within the Bauhaus itself.

APFEL were also commissioned to design the exhibition’s catalogue and marketing materials, further reinforcing the show’s fresh and distinctive visual identity.

“It is an honour to work on an exhibition about one of the most significant and influential movements in design history,” comments Andy Groarke, director and co-founder of Carmody Groarke. “We hope that visitors will be able to enjoy the collections as much as we have in designing the show with the curators and APFEL.”

Kirsty Carter, co-founder of APFEL, said “Now is an important time to put on an exhibition about the Bauhaus. It demonstrates the power of arts education and how design enhances our lives – at a time of arts and education cutbacks, we hope the exhibition might inspire our government to re-think how to spend their money.”

Leila Hasham, assistant curator at the Barbican, said “Carmody Groarke and APFEL have proved to be first-rate problem solvers on this project and together are always able to bring multiple relevant ideas to the table. Their work has always been informed by a true appreciation of the content, rather than just purely aesthetic considerations. Working with them has been a pleasure.”

Jan Tschichold embraced extremes. His work, most notably “Die Neue Typographie”, embraced and defined modernist typographic ideas. At his most provocative Tschichold only condoned the use of sans serif type. Later in his life he condemned his own pro-modernist stances as too militaristic, comparing them to the thinking of the Nazis which compelled Tschichold to leave Germany.

Regardless of his dichotomous views and styles, Tschichold’s work showcases attention to detail and an emphasis on communication that has proven to be lasting. Because of his strong ideological stances Tschichold is one of the most defining voices in 20th century typography.

“Jan Tschichold: Master Typographer: His Life, Work & Legacy”, takes on a daunting task. To characterize Tshcichold’s varied career, designs, and life requires the unification of extremes. As a result, the book is forced to take the long view. But it does so in a way that allows for some scrutiny of details. The collection of essays focuses on Tschichold’s early training, modernist writings, modern poster designs, classic designs at Penguin, and the rethinking of his Sabon into Sabon Next. The focus on specific facets of Tschichold’s career yields some interesting insights.

Unfortunately, the multiple author format also produces some redundancies. Almost all of the essays begins with an explanation of Tschichold’s upbringing, and mentions his need to flee Germany under Nazi regime. While important to any Tschichold history, reading the same details gets tiresome. Furthermore, Tschichold condeming all serifed type is mentioned at least three times in the book. While not surprising — its a striking quote — it showcases the drawbacks of multi-essay compilations like this one.

Regardless of these shortcomings “Master Typographer” works. Doubleday’s essay on Tschichold’s work for Penguin, during which Tschichold designed today’s Penguin logo and unified their cover designs, introducing the iconic Penguin Paperbacks, is particularly interesting. Possibly because of Penguin Paperbacks recent resurgence in popularity, but more likely because of the intimate details of the essay. Original notes, sketches, and a detailed chronology give stunning insight into the remaking of the Penguin Paperback. A discussion on Tschichold and poster design succeeds on the same fronts. A detailed chronology of Tschichold’s poster designs brings us hidden gems of modern poster design. Sadly, the broad analysis of the posters leaves something to be desired. By highlighting these two essays I don’t mean to discount the others in “Master Typographer”. With the exception of the section on Sabon Next, which is mainly a feast for the eyes, each section is an insightful examination of Tschichold’s character and works.

For all of the successes of “Master Typographer”, I think it’s fair to note that it would be difficult to write a book on Tschichold that wasn’t at least a bit compelling. Tschichold was an opinionated man who led an amazing life. At one point changing his name to Iwan as a sign of support for the Russian Revolution; writing and exploring with the likes of Moholy-Nagy, El Lissitsky, and Renner; fleeing Nazi Germany; and taking part in Post-War reestablishment of printing in England. Tschichold’s life is amazing.

I see this volume as an enticing introduction to Tschichold, and a insightful companion to the Tschichold follower. Tschichold remains a largely unrecognized figure in modern design outside of type circles. I’m hopeful that compilations like “Master Typographer” work to strengthen his legacy.

Lastly, the designers of Master Typographer, Corine Teuben and Cees W. de Jong, deserve praise. The layout and composition in Master Typographer are top-notch.

Chris Hamamoto is a visual designer in San Francisco. He co-designed Typographica.org.

You can almost tell by looking at this watch that Max Bill was a student of Walter Gropius at the Bauhaus.

A famous designer, architect, and painter, with work represented in the MoMa, Bill designed this watch, available at the MoMaStore in the early sixties for German manufacturer Junghans. Clean, refined, and a definite conversation starter.