walter gropius – DesignApplause

the whole world a bauhaus. elmhurst art museum.

Mar 18, 2019

this internationally traveling exhibition celebrates the 100th anniversary of the founding of the bauhaus, a legendary german school that revolutionized the parameters of art, the crafts, and technology. while it existed for only 14 short years (1919-1933), its influence shaped modern thinking and artistic approaches to industrialization. bauhaus instructors included some of the most famous modern artists and architects including mies van der rohe, walter gropius, wassily kandinsky, josef and anni albers, paul klee, lászló moholy-nagy, lily reich, and more. many of the influential figures and others involved at the bauhaus left germany and spread the school’s lessons internationally. the exhibition the whole world a bauhaus, titled after a quote by student and teacher fritz kuhr, includes art and design pieces by select instructors and students as well as photographs and documents that convey the spirit of the bauhaus. one hundred years after its founding, the modern ideals of the school spread the globe and are still integrated in today’s interdisciplinary approaches to the arts.

the whole world a bauhaus is divided into eight different chapters, each focusing on an aspect of work and life at the bauhaus during its operation: art, crafts, and technology; floating; community; encounters; the total work of art; new man; radical pedagogy; and experiment. these sections highlight the work students did in their revolutionary workshops with industrial materials and processes, the school’s major impact on the international avant-garde, and how the students and instructors sought to rethink their world.

the elmhurst art museum is the only u.s. venue of the touring exhibition the whole world a bauhaus curated by boris friedewald.

designer gifts 2015. chisel & mouse.

Nov 11, 2015

brothers robert and gavin paisley, at [ chisel & mouse ] bring their passion for beautiful buildings to life. their mission is to bring great architecture into your living room.

from hobbyists to architectural sculptors they take their inspiration from the built environment that surrounds them; there are some buildings that speak through their beauty, they reflect this beauty in their artistic representations.

the sculptures are made of plaster which gives them a reassuring weight and a smooth, cool feel. most feature fine details, such as window frames, etched in metal.

chisel & mouse, victoria cottage, dodds bank, nutley, east sussex, tn22 3lr, united kingdom

london cityscape framed 1:5000 // a 3d map of the city of london at 1:5000. a single resin tile measuring 30x30cm encapsulated in a beautiful perspex frame. the model can wall hang or be displayed on a desk or table top.

bauhaus dessau // the bauhaus dessau was designed by walter gropius in 1925 to house the bauhaus design school. the building bares many similarities to his critically acclaimed fagus factory. the school was responsible for launching the modern movement and shaped much of the architecture of the 20th century.

the bauhaus dessau with its strong lines and simple form is an outstanding example of modernist architecture.

battersea power station // battersea power station, built in 1933, has been crumbling away since shutting down over 20 years ago. despite its dilapidation the building remains an iconic landmark with its instantly recognisable chimneys. this building is a true london landmark and worthy of the term ‘iconic’.

our architectural sculpture of battersea power station’s northern chimneys is striking. it displays the beauty and function that sir giles gilbert scott was so famous for and is the perfect example of mantelpiece art.

each of our architectural sculptures is handmade in our studio in sussex, england. they are made of strong plaster that has a reassuring weight and smooth, cool feel. stylish ornaments, gifts or presents that are handmade in britain and look fabulous on a desk, shelf or wall.

address: battersea power station, 188 kirtling street, london, sw8 5bp, england.

lescaze house // in 1933-34 william lescaze, the revered modernist architect, designed and built his own house in manhattan. claimed to be new york’s first modernist house, it stands out from its row of brownstones due to its striking design. white concrete, glass bricks, an absence of ornamentation and its use of strong geometric forms make this house unique.

lescaze approach to architecture can be seen in every facet of the building. from the external design to the internal layout, his focus on function and practical living are evident.

chisel & mouse have produced a stunning sculpture of the front facade, paying a fitting homage to one of new york’s most desirable residences.

address: 211 east 48th street new york, united states

Chicago tribune tower competition of 1922..

Nov 10, 2013

plate 197: walter gropius and adolf meyer (weimar, germany)
plate 229: max taut (berlin, germany)

While researching an upcoming Armin Hoffmann post from one of our contributing writers I find the ‘Chicago Tribune Tower Competition of 1922. The link came from a design submission by Walter Gropius.

The paradox of the early Bauhaus was that, although its manifesto proclaimed that the ultimate aim of all creative activity was building, the school did not offer classes in architecture until 1927. During the years under Gropius (1919–1927), he and his partner Adolf Meyer observed no real distinction between the output of his architectural office and the school. So the built output of Bauhaus architecture in these years is the output of Gropius: the Sommerfeld house in Berlin, the Otte house in Berlin, the Auerbach house in Jena, and the competition design for the Chicago Tribune Tower, which brought the school much attention.

plate 1: first prize, john mead howells and raymond m. hood (nyc)
plate 7: perspective drawing of the winning entry

The following excerpt and plates (selected by the museum) from the skyscraper museum:

In June 1922, the Chicago Tribune announced its intention to construct a new headquarters that would be “the most beautiful office building in the world.” To find its architect, the Tribune conceived a competition that was also a brilliant publicity campaign. With a $50,000 first prize (the equivalent today of about $690,000!), and $20,000 and $10,000 for second and third prize, the competition generated massive press coverage and attracted 263 entries from twenty-three countries. A range of the winning entries and some famous modernist contenders from Europe are shown in the frames at the right.

To ensure the prestige of the event, the paper invited ten nationally prominent firms to submit designs and paid each $2,000. Among the invited was New Yorker John Mead Howells, the son of author and editor William Dean Howells, as well as a cousin of the Tribune publisher Robert R. McCormick. Unable to devote sufficient time to the project, Howells sought an associate to prepare the entry and happened fortuitously on the young architect Raymond Hood, who needed work. Hood created the drawings and seems to have been responsible for much of the design, which was a Gothic spire modeled on the medieval Butter Tower of Rouen.

Plate 13: Second Prize, Eliel Saarinen (Helsingfors, Finland) with Dwight Wallace and Bertell Grenman (Chicago)
plate 96: ralph walker of mckenzie, voorhees & gmelin (nyc)

Plate 97: Bertram Goodhue (NYC)
plate 20: third prize, holabird & roche (chicago)

plate 34: helmle & corbett (nyc)
plate 44: d. h. burnham & co. (chicago)

plate 196: adolf loos (nice, france)
plate 231: bruno taut, walter gunther, and kurz schutz (magdeburg, germany)

left> the rouen cathedral inspires hood’s design

[ etc ]
1> chicago installed a zoning ordinance in 1920 governing building heights and mass. the setbacks and tapering in the submissions was common in the late 20s and 30s, purportedly to allow more light on the streets, but it also permitted a work-around to achieve a taller building. chicago revamped again in 1923 to allow bigger buildings.
2> adolph loos was chief architect for vienna 1921>24
3> designs for great architectural landmarks that were never built
4> possibly for more than a millennium churches were the tallest buildings in the world, broken by the philadelphia city hall (1901); rouen cathedral was the tallest in 1202
5> [ skyscraper museum ] [ modern b4 mies ]