The Bauhaus Connection (Germany, Israel, Japan, Netherlands)

2019 marks the centenary of the foundation of the Bauhaus. Although the Bauhaus was just a small part of the modern architecture movement in Europa, it is still interested to see how many famous examples of modern architecture have a connection to the Bauhaus or one of its architects. Therefore the modern architecture is here captioned with The Bauhaus Connection. As architectural history is not one of my main themes, I mainly oriented myself by the UNESCO World Heritage List. If you think that I have missed any important example of European pre-war modern architecture in this post please tell me in a comment.

While preparing this post I realised that I still miss things about some famous example of modern architecture in my collection. If anybody could help me with stamps or postcards about these things I would love to swap: Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut de Ronchamp, Complexe du Capitole in Chandigarh, Musterhaus am Horn in Weimar, Neues Frankfurt, Tugendhat Villa in Brno, Unité d’habitation in Marseille.

Walter Gropius, who later founded the Bauhaus, was born in 1883 in Berlin. His great-uncle was the architect Martin Gropius, who is famous for his representative buildings in the style of the Historism. At the age of twenty, in 1903, Walter Gropius began his studies of architecture in Berlin, which he continued in Munich in 1906, but which he terminated without graduation in 1908. His biggest problem was the drawing of blueprints.

Nonetheless Gropius was able to begin working at the architect's office of Peter Behrens in the same year. Peter Behrens was known for his industrial buildings and is today considered as the first industrial designer in history, as he designed the entire corporate identity for the Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG). His most famous building is the AEG Turbine Factory in Berlin. Beside this, Behrens' importance for the modern architecture is also justified by his architect's office, which became a working place for many now World-famous young architects. These architects include beside Walter Gropius also Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Adolf Meyer.

After working for Peter Behrens for two years, Walter Gropius went into business for himself in 1910. The most famous building of this early independent period is the Fagus Factory, a shoe last factory in the small town of Alfeld in modern day Lower Saxony. It was commissioned by its owner Carl Benscheidt and was designed by Walter Gropius together with Adolf Meyer between 1911 and 1925. It is considered to be a landmark in the development of modern architecture and industrial design and still today it is used for the production of shoe lasts, although also a museum was established in a part of the complex and although it is on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2011.

In 1917 a movement of artists and architects emerged in the Dutch of Leiden, which would later have an important influence on the architecture of the Bauhaus - De Stijl. Proponents of De Stijl advocated pure abstraction and universality by a reduction to the essentials of form and colour. Theo van Doesburg, one of the movement's most important members, later even moved to Weimar. Without a permanent position at the Bauhaus he still held architectural lectures and influenced the students and professors.

The most famous example of the De Stijl architecture is the Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht. It was commissioned by Ms Truus Schröder-Schräder as family house and was designed by the architect Gerrit Thomas Rietveld. It was built in 1924.

UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000

In 1919 the Weimar Saxon Grand Ducal Art School and the Weimar Academy of Fine Art were merged to form a new school. The school became known as Bauhaus and Walter Gropius became its first director. The Bauhaus soon gathered outstanding architects, artists, craftsman and designers. Its aim was to unite art and craft and shape and function for the creation of a functional total artwork for the mankind in the industrial age. Based on the fundamental courses (Josef Albers, Johannes Itten, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy) the Bauhaus offered for example courses in printing (Lyonel Feininger), pottery making (Gerhard Marcks), weaving (Georg Muche), mural art (Wassily Wandinsky), glass painting (Paul Klee) and sculpting (Oskar Schlemmer). The students, which included many foreigners and women, were encouraged to become both artists and craftsmen.

Due to the pressure of conservative parts in the Thuringian government the Bauhaus had to present its first exhibition in 1923. Although the professors thought it would be too early, the exhibition became a success. The main product of the exhibition was the Musterhaus am Horn, the first real Bauhaus-style building which was created as collaboration of the different courses.

Also after the exhibition the pressure of the Thuringian government did not decrease, in fact they even reduced the funding in 1924 and terminated the professors' contracts for 1925, which forced the Bauhaus to find a new home. This new home was found in Dessau, which had a liberal city council and where the aircraft manufacturer Hugo Junkers offered financial help. In Dessau the Bauhaus had its heyday. There many new pieces of furniture were designed and the cooperation with the industry began. Also the most famous Bauhaus-style buildings, the Bauhaus Building and the Masters' Houses, were built in Dessau.

In 1927 Walter Gropius designed two houses for the Weissenhof Estate in Stuttgart. The Weissenhof Estate was built for the Deutscher Werkbund exhibition and was an international showcase of modern architecture. All together it included 21 houses, which were designed by 17 European architects. The estate in Stuttgart became the first in a series of six, which are currently trying to get the European Heritage Label (EDIT: They got the label in 2019!).

Another famous architect who was involved in the Weissenhof Estate was Le Corbusier. In 2016 17 projects by Le Corbusier in seven countries were inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List as The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement.

One of Le Corbusier's two houses at the Weissenhof Estate

Le Corbusier's National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo

In 1928 Walter Gropius resigned as director of the Bauhaus. The new director became the Swiss architect Hannes Meyer. Meyer intensified the cooperation with the industry and focused more on architecture. One of the most famous buildings designed by Hannes Meyer is the ADGB Trade Union School in Bernau bei Berlin.

One of the big problems of the Weimar Republic was the acute shortage of affordable housing. During Hannes Meyer's time as director the Bauhaus took part in a project in Dessau, which tried to produce relief - the Dessau-Törten Housing Estate. It was conceived as a solution for cost-effective mass housing.

Another important modern housing estate of that time was the Großsiedlung Siemensstadt, which was built with the participation of Walter Gropius in Berlin between 1929 and 1931. Unlike the other significant public housing projects of the time, which were produced under government sponsorship, the Siemensstadt was constructed by a private housing cooperative as worker housing for Siemens' nearby electrical factory. The Siemensstadt is the youngest of the six Berlin Modernism Housing Estates, which are on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2008.

After Hannes Meyer had become the new director, he shifted the orientation of the school further to the left than it had been under Gropius, which resulted in conflicts with Dessau's city council. In 1930 Meyer was fired by the city's mayor. His successor became Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, but at this time the days of the Bauhaus were already numbered. In 1932 the NSDAP gained control in the city council and proceeded to close the Bauhaus. Rohe tried to save the school by moving it to Berlin and privatising it, but after the Nazi seizure of power the school was forced to voluntarily shut down.

New National Gallery in Berlin (built after the war)

But the closure of the school did not bring an end to its ideas. In fact it even helped to spread them, as in the following time many members of the school emigrated. Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for example went to the USA, where they continued their teachings, and Hannes Meyer went to the Soviet Union. As many of the students were Jews, many of them later also went to Israel, where they created the White City of Tel Aviv. Still until today the Bauhaus influences architecture, art and design and during a jubilee year like 2019 this becomes even clearer again.

The Meiji Period (Japan, Russia)

The era of Emperor Meiji from 1868 to 1912 became known as Meiji Period. During the Meiji Period Japan underwent major changes in its social structure, internal politics, economy, military and foreign relations. Japan changed from an isolated feudal state to a modern great power. Important events during the Meiji Period were the restoration of the practical imperial rule, the abolition of the feudal order, the introduction of the compulsory education, the abolition of the treaty ports, the industrialisation, the constitution of 1889, the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 and the expansion of Japan to Korea, the Okinawa Islands, southern Sakhalin and Taiwan. The Meiji Period was followed by the Taisho Period.

The Tomioka Silk Mill was established in 1872 by the Japanese Government with machines from France. It marks Japan's entry into the modern and industrialised era and also illustrates Japan's desire to quickly start a mass production of silk. Since 2014 is the Tomioka Silk Mill with its Related Sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution are since 2015 on the UNESCO World Heritage List. They bear testimony to the rapid industrialisation of the country during the Meiji Period, through the development of the iron and steel industry, shipbuilding and coal mining. In this period Japan sought technology transfer from Europe and America and adapted this technology to the country’s needs and social traditions. Japan is considered to be the first country where the transfer of Western industrialisation to a non-Western nation was successful.

The Glover's Residence was built by the Scottish merchant Thomas Blake Glover. It is the oldest Western style house surviving in Japan and known as setting of the opera Madama Butterfly.

Not everyone in Japan was pleased with the direction the nation had taken. The Saga Rebellion was an uprising of former samurais in Kyushu in 1874 against the Meiji Government, which was led by Etō Shimpei and Shima Yoshitake. It ended with a victory of the government and an end of the rebellion. The issues which led to the uprising remained unresolved.

The Saga Castle was burned down during the Saga Rebellion and was rebuilt between 2001 and 2004. It is the largest wooden castle reconstruction in Japan and was listed as one of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan. It houses the Saga Castle History Museum.

The Ryukyu Kingdom was an independent kingdom on the Okinawa Islands in East Asia. It was founded in the 15th century and soon played an important role in maritime trade. It was in a tributary relationship with China. Already since 1609 it was a Japanese vassal and in 1879 the kingdom was officially annexed by Japan. Today the Okinawa Islands form the Japanese Prefecture of Okinawa.

The Shuri Castle is a gusuku, a Ryukyuan castle, and was the royal palace and capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom. In the Battle of Okinawa in 1945 it was almost completely destroyed, but beginning in 1992 it was rebuilt involving photographs, historical records and memory. Since 2000 it is together with the other Gusuku Sites and the Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Russo-Japanese War was fought between February 1904 and September 1905. It started because of rival urges of territorial expansion of the Russian Empire and Japan in Manchuria and Korea. During the war Japan demonstrated its power in various won battles and thus surprised international observers. The war ended with the Treaty of Portsmouth, which was mediated by the USA. Japan gained the territory leased by Russia in China and the southern half of Sakhalin, Russia left Manchuria and Korea remained in the Japanese sphere of influence. It was the first important victory of an Asian power over an European great power for centuries.

Monument of Vsevolod Rudnev, a Russian naval officer during the war

Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the End of World War II (Japan)

6th August 1945, 8:16

70 years ago an air plane started from an island in the Pacific Ocean, on board the atomic bomb "Little Boy", its destination the Japanese city Hiroshima. The bomb was dropped shortly after. Between 70000 and 80000 inhabitants of the city were immediately dead, many more died later. 80% of the city were destroyed. It was the first military use of an atomic bomb in the World's History. 

The Genbaku Dome was the only standing structure after the dropping of the nuclear bomb and is still preserved in the same state. Since 1996 is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Three days after the destruction of Hiroshima also Nagasaki was destroyed by an atomic bomb. 50% of the city were destroyed and around 36000 inhabitants died immediately. Japan capitulated some days later. World War II was finally over.

The Nagasaki Peace Park opened in 1955.