Bauhaus Exhibition at the Barbican

The Bauhaus: "Art as Life" exhibition at the Barbican in London explores the evolution of an experimental arts and craft school in 1920s Weimar into the most influential design school of the 20th Century. Visiting the exhibition was a deeply personal experience for me, having studied architecture at the Bauhaus University in Weimar in the 1990s. I had a few questions in my head before entering the exhibition: How did this revolution happen and will there be anything more modern or radical than the Bauhaus again?

The first question is easier to answer. In 1919 in Weimar Gropius announced in his manifesto of the Bauhaus that the "ultimate aim of all creative activity is building". However, the Bauhaus was about much more than buildings. Designers, architects and craftspeople worked together to create a "Gesamtkunstwerk"; a total work of art. The Bauhaus students trained in crafts such as glass, timber, metal, fabric, ceramics, carpentry and stone sculpture to fully understand every nuance of these mediums. International artists such as Kandinsky, Klee, Feininger, Schlemmer and Itten came to the Bauhaus and guided the students as masters of their crafts rather than as traditional professors. Geometric patterns in bold yet playful colours dominate the arts and crafts exhibits from these years. Students explored shapes and volumes by reducing them to simple lines; a reduction to the minimal design element, a line.

The Bauhaus was one of the the first movements that tried to break free of historic precedents. Theo Van Doesburg arrived in Weimar in 1921 and shook up the art community with his De Stijl principles. The move to Dessau in 1925 lead to a re-structuring of the course: architecture, photography, advertising and " free art" were added and some craft workshops were abandoned. The art community strived to design every aspect of life, from the space which surrounds us, the elements within it, the performing arts, eating, sleeping even partying and music. Everything is documented through photography. The school moved away from art and craft based production towards machine manufacturing. With the appointment of Socialist Hannes Meyer the school focused on designing standard products which could be manufactured in great numbers and therefore be affordable to everyone.

With regards to the second question; we seem to go round in circles when it comes to design taste and fashion, and many of the exhibits are still incredibly stylish. Will there ever be such a fundamental change in design principles to the same extent as the Bauhaus, which still profoundly influences our lives in many areas? There is more of an emphasis on materiality in modern architecture, but the basic forms are still Bauhaus inspired.

Personally, I was fascinated by the advertising posters with their strong geometric lines and bold typefaces. Advertising and photography were in their infancy as mass mediums, yet the graphic design techniques used at the Bauhaus still look modern nearly ninety years later. The various pictures of the masters and their students with their stylish looks also makes the movement real, something I did not experience in Weimar. I was touched to see how young the staff and students were; it must have been such a vitalising and inspiring place!

The only thing missing from the exhibition are models and plans of some of the iconic Bauhaus buildings. All in all it is a superb exhibition, delving deeply into the history of the most remarkable design school of all times.

Bauhaus: Art as Life is at the Barbican until the 12th August.

Budding architects at Colston's Primary School in Bristol design olympic stadia

Elke and Izaak from DHVA facilitated an architectural model making workshop for the year 3 children of Colston's Primary School in Cotham, Bristol. Izaak explained at an initial lecture the history of stadia and how function influences their design, and showed the children exciting examples of interesting stadia from around the world to fire their imaginations. On day one of the workshop the children prepared their base plates, sports fields and seating for football, cycling, athletics and aquatics stadia. On day two the children created fantastic architectural structures with card, bubble wrap, foam, tensile fabric and clear plastic. On day three the children coloured and decorated the models. Various items, especially model trees, we're kindly donated by the professional model-making workshop Amalgam Models in Bristol. The children were very enthusastic about the project and created some unique, quirky, and quite professional models, and learned about architecture, scale and how "form follows function".

DHVA are accredited planning agents

DHV Architects are now 'Accredited Planning Agents' for Bristol City Council (Householders' Applications). 
The Accredited Agents scheme recognises that we are producing consistently good quality planning applications which are validated without the need for further information or amendments. An application submitted by an accredited agent is automatically validated and is determined in six weeks (as opposed to the statutory eight).
This reduces the total time from submission to determination from eight to six weeks.

Gold Star Awards

DHVA has been short listed for the Redland and Cotham Amenities Society Gold Star Award, for the new entrance foyer to Colston's Primary School in Cotham.

Know Your Place

Bristol City Council has released a really useful website which is called Know Your Place. You can view large scale historic maps of your area or find out if your property is in a conservation area.

VAT increase for listed buildings

Until March 2012 the cost of alterations to listed buildings was charged at a zero percent VAT rate. This was a welcome relief for owners of listed buildings who frequently have to pay higher premiums for the restoration and alteration of their buildings. This however has changed George Osborne announced in his Budget that this would be increased to the standard rate of 20 per cent.

It means the cost of altering some of the UK’s most valued buildings and churches will soar, and it will almost certainly have a detrimental effect on the number of projects that are undertaken.

Mr Osborne’s announcement was attacked by heritage groups who warned that it would discourage improvements to listed buildings.

RIBA Conservation Group Chair Robert Franklin said:
'There is a real concern from the RIBA that the planned increase from zero to twenty percent VAT for alterations to listed buildings could have a debilitating economic impact on development in the historic environment. Whilst VAT may discourage some inappropriate proposals, I fear a 20% rate, so suddenly applied, will make it unaffordable for listed building owners to make necessary alterations to many of our cherished buildings, whether for correcting past mistakes or bringing up to date for new uses. The economics of such schemes may increase the number of buildings 'at-risk', through pressure to demolish and replace with new-build, particularly for housing which remains zero rated.
Due to the speed of the proposed VAT change we are particularly concerned that those schemes deemed viable based on the zero rate may suddenly become non-viable, and not go ahead.'
The RIBA will now work alongside our national stakeholders in order to make a full assessment of the impact of the proposed changes and will be responding to the government consultation in due course.
 

National Planning Policy Framework

The revised National Planning Policy Framework has been finally released. The key phrase of the document is that "presumption in favour of sustainable development" should be"seen as a golden thread running through both plan-making and decision-taking".
The new framework includes specific references to encouraging development on brownfield sites. It outlines "five guiding principles" of sustainable development, listed as: living within the planet's means; ensuring a strong, healthy and just society; achieving a sustainable economy; promoting good governance; and using sound science responsibly. Policies such as those protecting the Green Belt, sites of special scientific interest, national parks and other areas can not "be overridden by the presumption". The future will show what impact this document will have on the decision making bodies and the effect it has on the quality of the architectural design.