Bau how? 100 years of Bauhaus in 5 key words

neubau eyewear is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Bauhaus, the influential school of design, with the limited edition collection Walter & Wassily. Bau how? Here's what you need to know about the history and ideas promoted by the Bauhaus in 5 key words.

It all started with a school ^(1*) ,the Staatliches Bauhaus in Weimar, a new institution merging the former Grand Ducal School of Arts and Crafts and the Weimar Academy of Fine Art. Even though Walter Gropius ^(2*) , who directed the school of design in 1919, was an architect, there was no architecture department until 1927. Gropius wanted to create a new guild of craftsmen without the class distinctions, saying no to arts class' snobbery.

The most basic principle of the movement of the Bauhaus school was 'form follows function' ^(3*). According to this idea, simple but elegant geometric shapes were designed based on the intended function or purpose of a building or an object.

The school had many major influencial artists ^(4*) among its teachers; Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger, Gunta Stölzl and Oskar Schlemmer. Political tensions led to different closures of the school with a permanent closure in April 1933. Its ideals nevertheless spread worldwide and still influences designers today.

Germany's major celebratory program for Bauhaus' centenary ^(5*) not only involves exhibitions in the three German museums housed in the former schools in Weimar, Dessau and Berlin, but many other initiatives such as the young Austrian spectacles manufacturer neubau eyewear celebrating an era with a homage to Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius and the painter Wassily Kandinsky. Through the shape of this new model neubau eyewear is creating a dialogue between design and the human being, applying the Bauhaus style to the here and now.

"While nowadays a lot of the iconic Bauhaus objects may be confined to the world of collections and museums, these sunglasses by neubau eyewear are a design object for everyday use, rekindling the original ideal of merging art and artisanship in a modern way."

Walter & Wassily design and material choices are directly inspired by Bauhaus: the titanium frame is a reference to the bent steel tubes used in Bauhaus furniture while the round shape pays homage to the circle as one of the period's defining elements. Fade tint mirror lenses recall the facade of Walter Gropius' famous Bauhaus school building in Dessau. The 3D-printed applications at the front of the frame interrupt the round outlines of the glasses, adding exciting detail to the model. Brass, black and shiny silver, those colors and contrasts so typical of the Bauhaus style, are represented in three different color finishes.
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Walter & Wassily is a unisex pair of sunglasses from the high-end segment of the neubau eyewear range available in snow-white / black matte, black coal / eclectic silver as well as black coal / brass matte for 399 Euros each. The frames are equipped with adjustable and easily shortened temples, a subtle logo at the end of the left temple as well UV 400 protection. Available in stores starting from April.

For more Bauhaus love click here.

Benelux PR & Marketing Manager Silhouette - Sandra Van Renterghem s.vanrenterghem@be.silhouette.com