Paving the way for modern design, the vision and influence of the iconic Bauhaus school is continuously seen around the world in interior design. A hundred years after its inception, the historic Bauhaus style and philosophy have endured while also being refreshed in new forms of art, furniture and architecture.
Courtesy of MuralsWallpaperLong before Bauhaus became a movement and design style, it was an art school that opened its doors in 1919. Bauhas was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar, Germany, with the idea of bringing together all arts, including architecture. Until 1933, the Bauhaus school operated in three German cities – Weimar, Dessau and Berlin – where the changes of venue and leadership influenced the school’s focus, techniques, educators and politics throughout the years. The school closed in 1933 under pressure from the Nazi regime, who claimed it promoted communist ideas.
The German term Bauhaus literally means “building house.”Decades after shutting its doors, Bauhaus continued to influence design education, art and architecture trends and furniture design in Western Europe and North America. Many people tied to Bauhaus who fled the Nazi regime during World War II emigrated to these areas and began anew as architects, artists and educators. Their work and ideas were largely responsible for bringing the Bauhaus aesthetic to the western hemisphere. Even one hundred years later, Bauhaus ideas and characteristics continue to pop up in and remain influential in modern design. Celebrating a Centennial In celebration of the iconic school’s centennial, worldwide wallpaper supplier MuralsWallpaper has designed a new signature collection that references classic Bauhaus shapes and colors, scaled up as murals in a modern interpretation of the movement. ♦ AphroChic Makes a Space for Black Designers and Their Stories ♦“As 2019 is the centenary of the Bauhaus school, we felt our ideologies aligned well with the Bauhaus objective to reform the arts, craft and architecture movement,” says Kathryn Jones, creative designer for MuralsWallpaper. “We felt it was a good fit and the perfect inspiration for a new collection.”
The six-piece collection incorporates flat concrete textures inspired by Bauhaus architecture, using minimal lines that show contrast between sharp angles and soft, curved shapes. It also transforms Bauhaus’ iconic primary color palette (red, blue, yellow) to tones that make them more ideal for modern decor. “We started by researching the color theory of Johannes Itten and how all color stems from red, yellow and blue,” explains Jones. “While we began our exploration with these primary colors, we softened them and added hints of contemporary, complementary colors for our design-conscious customer.”
Complementary Standalone Murals
While the six murals complement each other and the Bauhaus style, Jones says that all are standalone murals in their own right. “We have incorporated simple shapes and curves into the designs to create a large-scale impact and bring new bold geometric designs to walls.”The overlaying of shapes and colors that make up the murals are also inspired by the color theory work of Bauhaus’ Josef Albers and by László Moholy-Nagy, a professor at the art school who explored perspective in his paintings.“The Bauhaus school housed a diverse range of artists, designers and architects, but MuralsWallpaper was drawn to the work of Albers and Moholy-Nagy in particular, because of their bold use of shape and color,” Jones adds.♦ On the Employee Wish List: Promoting Health with Active Design ♦The six-piece collection took MuralsWallpaper’s design team only three months to create, and includes the following murals:Neues Sehen - new visionPerspektive - perspectiveKreis - circleBilden - formDreieck - triangleDessau - German city home to one of the three Bauhaus schools“We developed this campaign as a celebration of the Bauhaus approach in terms of our wallpaper designs and in our room styling,” says Jones. “Taking initial inspiration from the Bauhaus principle of simplicity, we chose pieces that were reduced to their most basic, functional elements for the campaign.”
Jones adds that when styling the Bauhaus murals, sleek, light and modern furniture pieces work best against the block color backdrops. “The color options and diverse composition of the shapes make them flexible enough to work in a variety of rooms, and for a variety of tastes. However, they work best surrounded by furnishings that also display an appreciation for modern-age design.”The Bauhaus’ may be 100 years old, but it’s design principles are not out of fashion. The sleek lines, minimalistic details and experimental use of shapes, colors and materials is still Wfound worldwide in daily décor and architecture. Incorporating these characteristics, MuralsWallpaper’s Bauhaus collection proves that one can always learn from the past.
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