Inside the Bauhaus

Inside the Bauhaus presents the story of an idea about how people might live. It is also the story of a school, the Bauhaus, whose life span coincided with the Weimar Republic's and whose history mirrors German history between the two world wars. Through mass-production, the Bauhaus, like the German Werkbund, hoped to change the quality of the designed object and the designed environment for everyone. Quality of life was an important design consideration in the housing schemes developed by Walter Gropius and Hannes Meyer, respectively the first and second directors of the school, and Ludwig Hilberseimer, whose teaching responsibilities at the Bauhaus included the planning curriculum.
Howard Dearstyne, the author of the present work, was one of a handful of Americans to study at the Bauhaus and the only one to earn a diploma in architecture. His account of life and education at the Bauhaus is drawn chiefly from contemporary sources, from his letters, from journals and letters kept by members of the Bauhaus faculty, from newspaper articles, and from the recollections of others. Dearstyne also includes historical background of the structure of the curriculum of the Bauhaus as well as discussions of the various workshops and how they functioned prior to his admission to the school.

Editor's Acknowledgments Introduction Preface Part I. A Personal Journey Chapter 1. The Road to the Bauhaus Part II. The Struggle for An Ideal Chapter 2. Henry Van Der Velde and His Prototype Bauhaus in Weimar Chapter 3. The Launching of the Bauhaus in Weimar Chapter 4. Handwork versus Machine Production Chapter 5. The Struggle over the Bauhaus in Weimar Part III. The Preliminary Course Chapter 6. The Three Phases of the Preliminary Course Part IV. The Workshops Chapter 7. The Furniture Workshop Chapter 8. The Print Shop, Typography and Advertising Art Chapter 9. The Pottery Workshop Chapter 10. The Weaving Studio Chapter 11. The Stained Glass Workshop Chapter 12. The Wall-Painting Workshop Chapter 13. The Sculpture Workshop Chapter 14. The Bauhaus Theater Chapter 15. The Metal Workshop Part V. Architectural Education at The Bauhaus Chapter 16. The Teaching of Architecture under Gropius Chapter 17. The Teaching of Architecture under Hannes Meyer Chapter 18. The Teaching of Architecture under Mies Van Der Rohe Part VI. Goodbye Bauhaus Chapter 19. Bauhaus Berlin—Bauhaus Finis Notes Bibliography Index