Bauhaus Design Theories and Principles: A Study of Modernism in 20th Century Design

This article explores the principles and application of Bauhaus design theories in 20th century design. It also discusses Frank Lloyd Wright's prairie school architecture and the development of modernism in design. The article includes a visual analysis of Frank Lloyd Wright's furnishing fabric and a discussion of contemporary design.

Running head: Modernism 1
20TH CENTURY DESIGN
Name of Student
Institution Affiliation

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Bauhaus design theories, principles and application
The Bauhaus movement emphasized on simplicity and functionality above everything else.it
advocated for geometry in architecture art and even object design. Colours used were mainly
the mild ones. Minimalist design was employed where there should be harmony between the
object and its functionality.
Bauhaus sought to strip their design of unnecessary ornamentation and instead creating useful
and yet beautiful simple designs. This was observed in the Bauhaus designs be it art,
buildings, furniture fabric as they share the principle of straight lines, the art of colour and
shape.
The theory of point line and plane. Kandinsky believed that a well-balanced design could
only be achieved through the mutual cooperation of forms and colours. The theory also
extended to curves and angle pointing out that acute angle would do well with strong colours
while obtuse angles required mild tones (Ford, 2013).
Moholy Nagy believed that a good artistic work should encompass several disciplines like
painting, typography, architecture or sculpture. He created the concept of typo photo which
has become the basis of modern-day advertising and designing.
Bauhaus artists used simple fonts and avoided heavy renderings with useless adornments.
Bauhaus showed deep appreciation for simple geometry which can be seen clearly in the
furniture and other design that were made back then.
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator Born in
1867 in Wisconsin and died in 1959. He was Sullivan's chief assistant architect before he
founded his own firm and created a style known as the prairie school where he taught the
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concept of organic design. Sullivan preference for simple, streamlined styles of architecture
(which is basically what constitutes modern architecture) had a great impact on Frank
Lloyd’s architectural style. All his structures most of which he built using the prairie school
architecture were characterised by structures made of local materials (Ford, 2013).
Fran took advantage of technological advances that had resulted from urbanization and
industrialization. There were a new variety of materials such as iron steel and textiles and
new improved more effective tools to shape materials. This allowed for the flexibility he
needed.
He followed the concept of form follows function.
He believed that people needed an escape from the usual in the life of the city and so he built
his homes on the outskirts of towns.
The key elements to modernism are visibly incorporated in his designs. These include
Minimalism, metal and concrete brutalism, factory produced parts, few to no details, the
concept of form follows function.
FRANK LLOYDS DESIGNS
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1. Object: furnishing fabric
2. Place of origin: New York
3. Date: 1956
4. Artist: Frank Lloyd Wright (designer), f. Schumacher(manufacturer)
5. Materials and techniques: screen printed linen
6. http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O267731/design-102-furnishing-fabric-wright-
frank-lloyd/
Object: Furnishing fabric
Place of origin: New York (made)
Date: 1956 (designed)
Artist/Maker: Wright, Frank Lloyd, born 1867 - died 1959 (designer)
F. Schumacher & Co. (manufacturer)
Materials and Techniques: Screen-printed silk, screen-printed partisan
Credit Line: Given by F. Schumacher & Co
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Visual analysis of frank Lloyds furnishing fabric
Modernism is a philosophical movement that arose as a result of great transformations in the
western society in the late 19th and early 20 t centuries.
The above furnishing fabric designed by Frank Lloyd Wright has common features of the
modernistic era designs. The patterns used express simplicity at its best with simple toned
down natural colours. The colours have also been carefully selected and only a few for each
design (Greenhalgh, 2014).
.that are the lines and the colours. The lines used are straight and regular bringing about a
‘clean look.' The pattern forms are simple, and the geometric shapes are carefully chosen to
avoid a ‘chaos' looks which are usually brought about by to many curves.
The mode of production used for the fabric was factory production which is a factor for
modernism. This helped to produce the item in large quantities of yet high quality within a
shorter time (Hill, 2013).
Modernism, searching for utopia
The fabric designs above are simple considering the forms of patterns and choice of colour
used by the designer yet elegant in every sense. The style of design of these products reflects
modern look from the straight clean straight and regular lines, the mild colours used and the
repletion of patterns.
The mode of production for this particular item was mass factory production as indicated and
therefore contributed to the development of a modernistic approach to design and production
(Wagner, 2017).
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Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Contemporary design is dynamic, always changing and it applies to what is currently being
used at a given time.it incorporates styles and items or pieces from different eras depending
on what fits where.
Looking at Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Hall, it's clear that he has employed styles from a
different era. For instance, in as much as the building has curvilinear edges, it still has
modern features like the choice of colour, material, lack of any sort of adornment. We also
can't say it's entirely modern because it clearly doesn't have all the features that would make
it modern. It's almost what one would refer to as' chaos ‘with so much going. The concept of
straight clean lines has been neglected (More, 2011).
Contemporary design can be said to have one thing in common: postmodern technology has
been employed which makes it possible to have taller buildings. Contemporary buildings are
made to outstanding. When compared to modern architecture there is a clear difference as
modern seems a bit reserved avoiding anything that might make it appear ‘shouting.'
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Modern architecture is mostly characterised by low horizontal flat roof structures .More
emphasis is put on the horizontal planes. Vouched for the truth to material, for instance,
would use was mostly stained rather than painted so as to retain their natural characteristics.
This particular practice is also employed in contemporary architecture it brings out an
aesthetically classy look (More, 2011).
Some of the other modern practices commonly used in contemporary architecture include,
open flowing interior spaces and use of glass and natural lighting.
Contemporary design is basically the result of aggregating many ideas and using them to
bring out something new and of better quality.
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References
Carranza, L. E. (2015). Modern Architecture in Latin America: Art, Technology, and Utopia.
Texas: University of Texas Press,
Ford, E. R. (2013). The Details of Modern Architecture. Auckland: MIT Press.
Greenhalgh, P. (2014). Modernism in Design (2011 ed.). London: Reaktion Books,
Hill, A. (2013). The ornament is Crime: Modernist Architecture. Chicago: Phaidon Press.
More, G. L. (2011). Caribbean Modernist Architecture. London: The Museum of Modern
Art.
Sabatino, M. (2016). Pride in Modesty: Modernist Architecture and the Vernacular. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press,
Wagner, O. (2017). Modern Architecture: A Guidebook for His Students to this Field of Art.
Texas: Getty Publications.
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