In 2015 the London Design Museum will move to its new home in West Kensington. Ahead of the move the museum have taken the opportunity to re-design their permanent collection exhibition, and from Wednesday January 30th 2013 are presenting it in the context of a series of explorations of design themes under the motto “Extraordinary Stories About Ordinary Things”

London Design Museum Collection: Extraordinary Stories About Ordinary Things

Extraordinary Stories About Ordinary Things is organised in 6 themed installations: Taste, Why We Collect, Icons, Identity & Design, Material & Process, and Fashion.

Six thematic explorations as fascinating and justified as the other, and which all suffer under the one common problem: lack of space.

Noble as the Design Museum’s intentions unquestionably are, the second floor at the current location in Shad Thames simply doesn’t have the space to do more than graze the surface.

Which at times can be irritating. Really irritating. You just know there is more, you want to know more, but……

Now we know people who would cite such as evidence of an essential problem with the exhibition concept.

We however know that presenting a permanent collection as extensive as that possessed by the Design Museum London in the 500ish square metres available is pretty much a thankless task.

You are never going to get something that pleases everyone.

But you’ve got to try.

We know other design museums that choose to focus on what the visitor knows. Give them what they expect and don’t tax them too much.

Which is, if we’re honest, lazy.

The concept chosen by the Design Museum is ambitious. Which is to be praised. But in the current location it just doesn’t quite work. We hope that in the new museum they have more space and can extend and deepen the presentations.

But regardless of the space based shortcomings, Extraordinary Stories About Ordinary Things is to be thoroughly recommended.

"Modernism arrives in Britain" as displayed at Extraordinary Stories About Ordinary Things, Design Museum London

Chronologically, Extraordinary Stories About Ordinary Things opens with “Taste” and the arrival of modernism in the UK, a decision which of course means they ignore the Arts and Crafts movement. Valid. And interesting.

Featuring, or better put, briefly referring to – as we say, space! – the contribution made by the likes of Marcel Breuer or Erno Goldfinger the section provides a nice overview of the uniquely British interpretation of modernism, something which was completely missing from the recent “Bauhaus: Art as Life” exhibition at the Barbican and which was pretty much reduced down to Brutalism at “British Design 1948 – 2012” at the V&A, and is therefore all the more welcome.

Having effectively defined when, in their opinion, the story of design begins, the exhibition then moves on to “explain” why they collect.

Except is doesn’t. There is no attempt to start a discourse on design as something that can and should be collected; on author design versus commercial design; on the current explosion in design galleries; for whom collects one?; what is even worth collecting? What counts as “authentic”?  With art it’s all relatively simple. But with design?

And so despite presenting the most delicious assortment of objects including Jasper Morrison’s 1983 Handlebar Table and Rover Chair by Ron Arad, for us they could/should have omitted it and devoted the space to the remaining sections.

Such as those that follow: “Icons” and “Identity and Design”, for us two of the most fascinating aspects about design.

We know. Sociology.

Honestly we missed our calling, we really did. No normal person should ever get as excited about sociological theory as we do.

The “Icons” section has been especially well conceived, concentrating as it does on one Icon of British Design – the Anglepoise lamp.
Not only is the Anglepoise lamp a true design icon, but by both looking at the development stages leading to the Anglepoise lamp and also juxtapositioning the Anglepoise with other lamps, one sets the Anglepoise lamp in a context that makes it both easily understandable and at the same time unapproachable. Which of course is how we want our icons.

The Identity and Design section is dominated by a blue motorway sign and a red telephone box.

For all the inclusion of the red telephone box under “Identity” is a stroke of genius, underlining as it does the difference between an icon and an object of identity.

As anyone who regularly travels from Gatwick Airport to central London by train will be aware, not far from the airport one passes what can only be described as a red telephone box graveyard.
Dozens if not hundreds of rusting phone boxes standing silent in rows like some apologetic British equivalent of the Terracotta Army.

We can only assume they are the innocent victims of someone’s attempt to cash in on the “iconic” status of the red phone box following the decision to decommission them and switch to plastic phone boxes.

The only problem is, they’re not iconic.

The red phone box on the corner represented for many generations something quintessentially British; but what was important to the public was less the box and more the telephone in it.

Removed of its function it becomes purely symbolic. Something of which we have fond memories and with which we can all identify. But not something iconic. And certainly not an object worth owning.

Which, and to digress, is something we’d like more East Germans to realise in the context of “DDR Design”. It may be cute and familiar, but no, it’s not iconic.

The motorway road sign meanwhile may seem like the most undesign thing you could imagine, being after all – a road sign. However, through the standardisation of road signs one not only has a wonderful example of how design can help make our lives easier, but also a strong symbol of national identity. A design led symbol of national identity.

Photographing a motorway sign in a museum. Very British!

The decision to include a section devoted to materials and processes shows a museum that understands the important role both will play in the future of design. Indeed, in many ways the future of design is all about materials and processes, of improving the existing for the benefit of all. It also neatly underlines that museums aren’t just locations for collecting and archiving, but locations for sharing knowledge, exchanging ideas and helping us make sense of the here, now and future. The decision only to include synthetic materials is however a real shame as it pushes the belief that only new is relevant and so denies centuries old process and materials any say in design’s future. And that is a dangerous position to take.

The final section is devoted to Fashion; but as older readers will be aware, us and fashion!

All in all Extraordinary Stories About Ordinary Things offers a compact overview of design in its wider sense, with background information sensibly and realistically presented. At times the “objects in boxes” presentation concept grates, you long to view things in 360 degrees, to understand the objects in their entirety – we can get 2D in photos, show us the joints! – but on the whole the exhibition is, as we said, to be thoroughly recommended.

Just don’t expect to come away from it understanding very much more about design; unless your lucky enough to view it with a guide who can explain in more detail what you’re looking at and why it is in the exhibition.

However if you are just looking for a collection of important design objects, clearly displayed and which provide a quick overview of and brief introduction to important design themes, then you won’t be disappointed.

And for our part, we’re already looking forward to viewing it in its new home in West Kensington in 2015.

Extraordinary Stories About Ordinary Things can be viewed during normal opening hours at the Design Museum, Shad Thames, London SE1 2YD.

In addition the Design Museum Collection App allows an overview of 59 objects from the museum’s collection including, for example, the Dyson vacuum, the Thonet chair, the Vespa, the Anglepoise lamp – and of course the British red telephone box.

At the risk of upsetting furniture historians, wood is probably the longest serving material in furniture design.

It is also one of the most deceptively complex and hard to work materials in furniture design.

For all bending, shaping and moulding pieces of solid wood is a process that has long fascinated and infuriated designers and architects in equal measure.

From Michael Thonet‘s ground breaking research in the 19th century, over the efforts of Alvar Aalto, Marcel Breuer or Charles Eames in the 20th and onto Christian Kuhn and Serge Lunin’s development of the dukta^* process in the 21st, the desire to shape and form wood as easily as one can bend metal or mould plastic has been a driving force in the development of popular design and architecture.

On Saturday November 17th the Gewerbemuseum Winterthur will open “Wood Loop – Auf Biegen und Brechen” a new exhibition looking at the use of wood in furniture design over the years, but for all the use of bent wood in it is multifarious forms.

The title is of course a reference to Michael Thonet’s singular maxim. Bend or Break.

In addition to an exhibition presenting a range of classic and contemporary examples of bent wood furniture, “Wood Loop – Auf Biegen und Brechen” promises an in-depth exploration of the dukta process and its development history, while for “Atelier dukta” seven architect and design studios have each developed a project specially for the exhibition.

We’ve not seen the exhibition yet and so obviously can’t make any comment on how well it achieves it goals or how deeply it explores the subject matter.

However as an idea for an exhibition we find it absolutely fascinating and certainly as subject it has the scope and depth to provide a truly rewarding experience.

And all who can make it to the the opening on Saturday afternoon are guaranteed a special treat; our old chums from the Thonet wood bending team will be on hand to present a live demonstration of Michael Thonet’s revolutionary process. And don’t be scared to ask if you can have a go. They usually say yes….

Wood Loop – Auf Biegen und Brechen runs at the Gewerbemuseum Winterthur Kirchplatz 14 CH-8400 Winterthur from November 17th 2012 until April 21st 2013.

In addition to the exhibition the museum have also organised the de rigueur fringe programme. Full details can be found at http://gewerbemuseum.ch

*The dukta process was developed by Christian Kuhn and Serge Lunin in a joint project with academic and industry partners. It involves making small incisions in the wood in order to increase flexibility….

Biegen oder Brechen. Michael Thonet the father of all wood benders.

And the process developed by Michael Thonet is still practised today. (Here at the Thonet Factory in Frankenberg (Eder))

Moulded plywood furniture by Marcel Breuer for Isokon, London (1936)

As more loyal readers will be aware we like nothing more than attempting to undermine Italy’s claim to be the cradle of contemporary European architecture and design.

It’s all show and deliberate misinformation being our war cry.

And so the exhibition L’Italia di Le Corbusier currently showing at the MAXXI in Rome is not the sort of show we really want to see presented.

Because it seems to imply that Italy played a significant role in both the development of the young Le Corbusier’s understanding of architecture and then as a reference point for him throughout his career.

Which could all undermine many of our arguments…..

Le Corbusier on the roof of the FIAT complex in Lingotto, 22nd April 1934 (Photo Courtesy Fondation Le Corbusier, Parigi)

Although for many Le Corbusier’s only substantial link with Italy is the licensing of his furniture designs to Cassina; Charles-Edouard Jeanneret’s relationship with Italy begins in 1907 when as a 20 year old he made his first trip over the Swiss-Italian border and his ties with Italy were to remain strong right up until his death in 1965.

L’Italia di Le Corbusier provides an insight into the relationship between Le Corbusier and Italy and in doing so explores how the the land was to influence Le Corbusier and his work.

Or at least that’s the professed aim of the exhibition.

We’ve not seen it, and so can’t say if it does or doesn’t

But it certainly sounds as if it should.

Presenting some 320 documents and 300 photographs L’Italia di Le Corbusier doesn’t just concentrate on Le Corbusier the architect but also covers his photography, painting, writing, sculpture etc… and so promises both a view of a Le Corbusier that most people don’t know and a rare chance to review his complete oeuvre.

Split into four chronologic and thematic sections L’Italia di Le Corbusier begins with his early study trips to Italy, including photographs and architectural drawings taken and made in Pompeii and his watercolours of Venice and Pisa.

The following sections explore his artistic pursuits in the early 1920s, including his establishing of the magazine L’Esprit Nouveau – in the first edition of which Charles-Edouard Jeanneret became Le Corbusier – and his contact and communication with Italian Rationalist architects during the 1930s. A particular highlight for us here is documentation of Le Corbusier’s friendly approaches to Mussolini in the context of  trying to win the commission for the new town of Pontinia.

L’Italia di Le Corbusier closes with a look at Le Corbusier’s post war work in Italy ending with his last two Italian projects, neither of which was ever realised but both of which are quintessential “late Le Corbusier”, the Olivetti Electronic Calculation Centre in Rho and a hospital in Venice.

"Studio della facciata del duomo di Pisa con dettagli di archetti e colonnine, 1907" by Le Corbusier (Courtesy Fondation Le Corbusier)

As we say we’ve not yet seen the exhibition and, despite our fears that it may cause us one or the other problem in our campaign against Italy, as an exhibition it is certainly very appealing.

What especially appeals to us is the country focus. Something about diving into the relationship between a man such a Le Corbusier and one country fascinates us.

The history of architecture and design is awash with close links between individuals and lands other than that of their birth. Yet the nature and influence of these relationships are all too often reduced to footnotes or accepted facts in the posthumous biographies and monographs.

L’Italia di Le Corbusier is a rare chance to explore one such relationship in more detail.

That and the chance to escape the north European winter for a few days Roman sun…

L’Italia di Le Corbusier can be viewed until February 17th 2013 at at MAXXI Rome. Full details can be found at www.fondazionemaxxi.it

Le Corbusier - Self portrait, 1917 (Courtesy Fondation Le Corbusier)

A 1964 sketch of Venice by Le Corbusier (Courtesy Fondation Le Corbusier, Parigi)

Back in April 2010 we reported that Dutch design anarchos Droog were planning a hotel in Amsterdam.

On September 16th 2012 Hôtel Droog will finally open for business.

And because it’s from Droog, Hôtel Droog has only one bedroom. Which is really an apartment.

The majority of the complex is taken up with all those things that in a “normal” hotel would be of secondary importance to the accomodation: eating, drinking, shopping, being pampered or relaxing in a garden.

Situated in a 17th century building on Staalstraat in the historic centre of the Dutch capital – and so conveniently next door to the Droog HQ – Hôtel Droog has been slowly opening over the past month or so and looks to us as if it has been principally conceived as an exhibition space; the 160 square metre Gallery taking up a quarter of the available space and offering more than enough room for Droog’s international roster of collaborators to present their take on contemporary art and design. While the adjoining “Fairy Tale Garden” and “Dinning Room” offer the, seemingly, perfect space to relax and digest what you have just viewed.

But we’ll all no doubt be much wiser once the project is fully up and running.

Full details can be found at www.hoteldroog.com

And as soon as the Droog press team get round to uploading the promised press photos into the imagebank… we’ll publish a few.

About a thousand years ago we asked our favourite Portuguese designer^TM Rui Alves aka My Own Super Studio about the use of colour in his work and he answered “I try not be afraid of colour. Portuguese art and design has a tradition of using lots of colour and so for me it is natural to use colour.”

Anyone wanting to get a feel for what Rui means need only spend a day travelling on the Lisbon underground.

While there are a lot of cities where using the underground system is more visually stimulating than visiting the local art galleries: the underground stations in Lisbon are particularly rewarding.

Not least because the chosen medium is decorative tiling, azulejo - an artistic form that is as Portuguese as sardines, discovering new continents or Fado.

The artist responsible for the majesty of the Lisbon Metropolitano azulejos was Maria Keil. A woman just as fascinating as her work.
And an artist who sadly left us on June 10th 2012 aged just 97.

Maria Keil 1914-2012. Here in front of a new azulejo she created for the modernisation of Estação São Sebastião in 2009 (Photo: http://www.metrolisboa.pt/)

Born in Silves in 1914 Maria Keil studied painting at the Escola Superior de Belas Artes in Lisbon and over the course of her career worked as a painter, illustrator, engraver and textile designer. Had she been born fifty years later she probably would have been simply classed as a graphic designer.

In 1933 she married the architect Francisco Keil do Amaral and together they formed one of the most important Portuguese design teams of the Modernist period – Franscisco designing the buildings, Maria the interiors. Among their most important projects are the original Lisbon Portela Airport and the Gold Medal winning Portuguese Pavilion at the 1939 Paris Expo.

And so when in the late 1950s Francisco was commissioned to construct stations for the new Lisbon underground system it was not entirely surprising that he asked his wife to bring colour and life to them.

Nor was it entirely surprising that Maria Keil chose azulejo as her medium of choice.

First introduced to Portugal in the 15th century decorative wall tiles quickly established themselves throughout the country, not only for their colour and ornamentation but also on account of the fact that they both helped illuminate rooms through reflection of light and also helped cover the unsightly walls of the buildings. And while over the centuries their popularity naturally rose and fell depending on the mood of the nation or the political situation, azulejos never completely vanished and remain today an inescapable component of all urban environments: a stroll down any street in Lisbon, for example, being akin to a stroll through an open air art gallery. Its also of course one of the reasons Portugal always seems to shimmer brighter than anywhere else. It’s the reflection from all the multi-coloured tiles.

In the first half of the 20th century azulejo was in one of its troughs and generally considered to be little more than a decorative historical artifact, and although their use by Art Deco and Art Nouveau artists meant that they remained contemporary, they played no real role in architecture.

The 1953 International Union of Architects (UIA) Congress “Architecture at the Crossroads” in Lisabon changed that.

Not only did it introduce Portuguese architects to current theories on using traditional, local products and processes in your building work, but also presented numerous examples of the use of azulejos in the brave, new, modernist rebuilding of Brazil being undertaken at that time.

And so in a textbook example of post-colonial theory, Portuguese modernist architects re-imported an updated interpretation of azulejo from the former colony.

Francisco Keil do Amaral participated at UIA 1953 and he and his wife readily embraced these new impulses. And so whereas pre-1953 Maria Keil’s catalogue shows no examples of azulejo, post-1953 she created azulejo designs for many of her husband’s projects including Luanda Airport, a housing estate on Av. Infante Santo in Lisbon and the refectory of the UEP holiday complex in Palmela.

And did so with such a confident naturalness one could almost believe that it was all she had ever done.

Shepherds by Maria Keil from the refectory of the UEP holiday complex, Palmela (Photo C.Bargel)

An important factor in all Maria Keil’s azulejo work is the masterly use of colour. Sometimes lots, sometimes less but always used in such a way that it perfectly supports the composition or graphic. Good use of colour isn’t about lots of colour or bright colour. It’s about the correct amount of the correct colour in the correct place.

Despite the scope of Maria Keil’s azulejo work, it is however for her designs in the Lisbon underground that she is best known; works that with her passing stand as a more than fitting memory to her artistic sensitivity and understanding of Portuguese history and tradition.

The designs for the first 11 stations were completed with the construction of the stations from 1957-1959. Over the coming decades a further 11 followed, the last being for the newly renovated Estação São Sebastião in 2009.

Reminiscent of street art Maria Keil’s installations are predominantly based on randomly repeating geometric forms supported through a use of colour that ranges from the monotone, for example at Estação Restauradores or Estação Intendente over carefully considered gradients of hue and shade and onto full on in your face pieces as wonderfully exemplified by Estação Rossio.

As artistic works Maria Keil’s Metropolitano azulejos are not just wonderful examples of mid-20th century visual composition, and works which are on a par with anything the likes of Ray Eames or Alexander Girard were creating at the time, but much more, through their use of shapes and forms drawn from five centuries of Iberian decorative tile design are also fitting and respectful modern interpretations of an artistic form that lies at the very heart of Portuguese craft tradition.

And make a day ticket for the Lisbon underground one of the best cultural investments you can ever make.

Thank you Maria Keil!

Estação Praca de Espanha Lisbon (Maria Keil, 1959. Photo C.Bargel)

Estação Parque Lisbon (Maria Keil, 1959. Photo C.Bargel)

Estação Rossio Lisbon (Maria Keil, 1963. Photo C.Bargel)

On July 23rd 2012 the Weißenhofsiedlung Stuttgart celebrates its 85th “birthday”.

An anniversary which provides a near-perfect excuse to relive one of the most important moments in the development of European Modernism.

As if we really need an excuse.

Initiated by the Deutscher Werkbund in cooperation with Stuttgart City Council the Weißenhofsiedlung comprised some 63 flats in 33 buildings designed by a truly stellar collection of international architects and was just one part of a larger exhibition entitled “Die Wohnung” which looked more generally at the future of “domestic arrangements” in the context of the economic realities in inter-war Europe.

In keeping with this wider context the Württemberg Section of the Deutscher Werkbund succinctly formulated the principle aim of the project in the 1926 publication “Die Wohnung der Neuzeit” as “…. a reduction in house construction and running costs, in addition to a simplification of housework and a general improvement in living standards”.¹ An aim that was to be achieved principally through the use of new materials, new approaches and new technology.

We know, we know … but back then it was pretty revolutionary stuff.

For lest we forget this was still a period when opulent ornamentation was considered a symbol of success. And nothing conferred social status much like a living room sideboard that looked as if it had been hewn from a single tree.

Which is of course one of the reasons the Weißenhofsiedlung is and was so important: it brought this new thinking to a mass public in a form that made it clear, understandable but for all was rooted in the possible rather than presented as some unachievable futuristic vision. The Weißenhofsiedlung was comprised of real houses that real people were going to live in.

Construction of the Weißenhofsiedlung started on March 1st 1927 the exhibition was opened on July 23rd and ran until October 31st and attracted over half a million visitors. Figures which as with those for “Design in Use, USA” need to be considered in context of the period and transport possibilities. Which if you do properly leads you to the conclusion that the exhibition not only caught the imagination of the masses but was also a huge success.

Sadly not all properties have survived, a combination of war and neglect having put paid to, for example the contributions from Max Taut or Hans Poelzig; however, some two thirds of the buildings can still be enjoyed.

And indeed should be.

Its all too easy to reduce modernism down to a couple of chairs and the Bauhaus school(s). We know we say that a lot. But it is important. Because to be able to understand where we currently are with design and architecture one needs to understand what the likes of Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius or Mart Stam wanted, why they wanted it, how the wanted to achieve it but also how their opponents wanted to stop them.

The Weißenhofsiedlung Stuttgart doesn’t provide all the answers. Is however a very important piece of the puzzle.

1. http://www.weissenhof2002.de/weissenhof.html Accessed 21.07.2012

The Weißenhofsiedlung Stuttgart (Photo: Veit Mueller and Martin Losberger)

As we’ve repeated ad nauseam Depot Basel is a project that has interested and excited us since the first show, but is a location that we’ve never manged to visit.

Happily when we were in Weil am Rhein for the opening of “Gerrit Rietveld – The Revolution of Space” at the Vitra Design Museum the smallest of small gaps opened in our schedule, and we seized the opportunity to sneak across the border.

Located in a former grain storage building on the site of a former railway freight yard next to a fully functioning dual carriageway, Depot Basel looks, if we’re brutally honest, like the picture perfect location for a contemporary design gallery.

A little too obvious. A little too New York ca. 1991. A little too post-industrial gentrification.

Fortunately, as a non-commercial project run by a small group of enthusiasts, the stereotypes are limited to the visuals.

The team behind Depot Basel have always been keen to stress that the project is neither a gallery, nor a museum, nor a showroom. Rather they see Depot Basel’s function as a space for mediating to the wider public what contemporary design, in all its multifarious facets, is, and where and how contemporary design interacts with all our lives.

To underscore this claim, Depot Basel exhibitions tend to be more interactive than one is generally used to. One isn’t just invited to view, discuss, enjoy an agreeable Müller-Thurgau and hopefully purchase something. Rather one is encouraged to participate, contribute and learn.

At Depot Basel design isn’t complicated and exclusive. It’s everyday.

Depot Basel. The obvious shot. But still lovin' it.

As we say we only had the smallest of small time-frames; the ICE to Frankfurt waits for no man. Not even us.

However, we did manage not only to undertake a quick tour of the exhibition space, but much more importantly catch up with Depot Basel co-founder Moritz Walther to talk about the background to and future off the project.

We’ve not included it in the interview, but what was particularly nice to hear was the moral support being offered to the project by, let’s say, one or the other major player in the Basel Metropolitan Area Design Gallery Scene. No names. No pack drill. Fantastic gesture.

Sadly we’re not going to make it to Design Miami Basel this year, but if you are going we can recommend dropping in at Depot Basel. Not least because bus 55 takes you from Basel Bad railway station (basically the Messe) to the Vitra Campus – via Depot Basel.

One bus. Three design highlights.

In less conservative societies that would be called a “Design Tour”

(smow)blog: The obvious opening, but how did everything begin ? What’s the background to Depot Basel ?

Moritz Walther: Last year the Stiftung Habitat [the trust fund who own the building and surrounding land] contacted Laura Pregger to ask if she had interest in developing a temporary project for this space. So we got together, contacted some people we thought might be interested, wrote a concept, won the pitch, and then started the difficult phase of financing the project. We had the space, but not the funds! However thanks to various institutions and supporters we were able to secure enough funding to start in August 2011

(smow)blog: Depot Basel is a temporary project, does that mean temporary temporary or just temporary in this location?

Moritz Walther: We definitely want to continue with the Depot Basel project. The use of this space is limited, we have it officially until the end of 2012, with, potentially, an option to continue until the end of 2013. But the idea and the concept should definitely be continued, but where and in which form has still to be decided.

(smow)blog: As regular visitors to Basel our perception is that the city already appears to have a lot of galleries and museums. Is that the case and where does Depot Basel fit in?

Moritz Walther: In Basel there are any awful lot of museums, but in terms of, lets say, haptic styling, there is only really the Vitra Design Museum; even if that isn’t technically in Basel, its influence is felt here. The city itself used to run an exhibition space for design, sadly that closed, and we really feel that such a location is necessary in Basel, also as an extension and contrast to all the art museums and galleries.

(smow)blog: You’re not a professional project, as in no-one is directly employed by Depot Basel, yet your currently showing your 6th exhibition, and preparing the 7th, and all within the first year. From a practical perspective; how do you organise the workload?

Moritz Walther: We have a master plan and within the context of that plan distribute the responsibilities amongst the team. So, for example, Laura  was principally responsible for the “Seats” exhibition, Matylda is filling the same role for the coming “Craft and Scenography” exhibition, Julia and Katharina the current “Bring a Ding” project. And then between the main exhibitions we also have the Insight series where individual designers present themselves, their work, their inspirations etc and then we also have film evenings. And for such events we all contribute where and when we can; but as you say we all have “real jobs” that pay the bills. Depot Basel is an unpaid, passion driven, project.

(smow)blog: The current exhibition “Bring a Ding” runs until May 27th. Briefly what is the background to the project, what is the aim?

Moritz Walther: The basic idea is to encourage children to understand the value of objects, and that objects which are damaged or no longer needed are not just rubbish but still have a meaning and a history. And so the children had to first choose an object, document the history and story of the object and then here with the help of three professional designers they modified the object or set it in a new context. And here in the exhibition we’re showing the whole process, from the research over the “redesigning” and of course the final objects.

(smow)blog: And to finish, what comes after Bring a Ding, what are the next projects

Moritz Walther: At the end of May we’ll remove the majority of the exhibits and then comes the Art Basel exhibition “Craft and Scenography”, which opens on June 11th and runs for a month. Then we’re having a short summer break before in August we open our “Musterzimmer” exhibition. Prototype or “show” rooms created to demonstrate current or future trends used to be regular feature of the furniture and architecture industries, and we want revive that tradition a little, and challenge young designers to show how they perceive the homes of the future.

Full details on Depot Basel can be found at http://depotbasel.ch

And we’ve published a few further photos from the Bring a Ding exhibition as a Facebook Gallery

Depot Basel, featuring exhibits from the "Seats" exhibition

Part of Bring a Ding at Depot Basel (sorry we forgot to record the designer's name :( )

On May 3rd the exhibition “Bauhaus: Art as Life” opens at the Barbican Art Gallery London. Organised in co-operation with the Bauhaus Archiv Berlin, Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau and Klassik Stiftung Weimar, “Bauhaus: Art as Life” presents some 450 works by the likes of as Marianne Brandt, Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Breuer, Walter Gropius et al and is the first major Bauhaus exhibition in the UK since 1968.

We’ll have a full report on the exhibition shortly. But ahead of the official opening we caught with Bauhaus Archiv Berlin Director Dr. Annemarie Jaeggi to talk about the exhibition and the role and relevance of Bauhaus in and to the UK.

(smow)blog:  Firstly as a little background, did the three Bauhaus institutions approach the Barbican with the idea for the exhibition, or did the Barbican approach yourselves?

Dr. Annemarie Jaeggi: The Barbican approached us in 2009 during the exhibition “Bauhaus. A Conceptual Model” in Berlin with the request, if it would be possible to show either that particular exhibition or another Bauhaus exhibition in London in 2012.

(smow)blog: The decision was ultimately for a different exhibition. Why not just show the 2009 exhibition?

Dr. Annemarie Jaeggi: “Bauhaus. A Conceptual Model”  was a very expansive exhibition and was conceived specifically to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Bauhaus. And although it did travel in a reduced version to New York, it wasn’t really practical to consider it as a permanent travelling exhibition; not least because the objects came from numerous sources, and us holding on to them, effectively on a permanent loan basis, wasn’t reasonable or fair.

So we thought “OK, let’s do things a bit differently”, and so we as the three largest Bauhaus institutions, made our collections available to the Barbican, and they then curated the exhibition. In the end some 70% of the objects come from Dessau, Weimar and Berlin and 30% from English collections in addition to items from, for example, the Centre Georges Pompidou, MoMa New York or Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern.

(smow)blog: A Bauhaus exhibition in the UK, sets a couple of obvious questions in the room. Firstly, in your opinion, did the Arts and Crafts movement play a role in the establishment of Bauhaus, or is there no real connection?

Dr. Annemarie Jaeggi: I’m not convinced it played a direct role. Arts and Crafts was very important for the re-discovery of traditional crafts, specifically a high-quality and pure form of handcrafts. And that had a great influence in Germany in terms of Jugendstil and the Deutsche Werkbund, and in that period the impulses came from England. However, I think for the Bauhaus less so, because that was much more driven by the situation in Germany after the First World War. Naturally there are common convictions, for all in terms of using crafts and manual labour as a tool to learn how one can work with certain materials, what is possible and where the limits of a material are. But also the idea of an honest use of materials; that one shouldn’t work against the properties of a material. And so these are things where one can say, yes there are parallels.

But what ultimately made Bauhaus the institution it became goes in a different direction namely to train designers, or to use the language of the day to train Formgestalter, to work with and for industry. And at that point Arts and Crafts and Bauhaus go their separate ways.

(smow)blog: And the complimentary question. If we see things correctly Bauhaus didn’t have much impact in the UK. For us one could almost speak of the UK as being the land Bauhaus forgot. Is that that the case?

Dr. Annemarie Jaeggi: Current thinking is starting to see that a bit differently. Previously it was accepted that Bauhaus had left little or no trace in the UK – that those Bauhäusler who emigrated to the UK had probably come a little too early. England was firmly rooted in its own tradition and the shift towards Modernism was very hesitant and really didn’t occur until after the Second World War. However, nowadays there is the line of thought that until now we’ve maybe focused too much on the prominent Bauhäusler.  But then what about the numerous other, less well known, Bauhäusler who had to leave Germany? Bauhäusler who, in comparison to Walter Gropius or Marcel Breuer taught at some of England’s most important art colleges, and the results of their contribution to UK art and design can only really be measured after 1945. And that is something that until now hasn’t been fully researched, but which we hope to investigate further, ideally in co-operation with institutions in the UK.

(smow)blog: And so in that context, can the exhibition be seen as a good starting point for a deeper study of the UK/Bauhaus relationship?

Dr. Annemarie Jaeggi: Yes, its a wonderful opportunity to highlight how many areas there are where we need to look deeper and do more research, including areas that are of specific historical interest to the UK. And I hope that this exhibition provides a little impulse in that direction.

(smow)blog: Briefly to end, as already discussed “Bauhaus. A Conceptual Model” wasn’t suitable as a travelling exhibition. Is “Bauhaus Art as Life” more suited. Could it potentially become a travelling exhibition?

Dr. Annemarie Jaeggi: I don’t think so. Many of the objects here are very fragile, and we have, for example an awful lot of paper based exhibits which are very light sensitive. Plus one must remember the works are 80 or 90 years old, and the paper used was of truly appalling quality; the years after the First World War were very hard and miserable years and the quality of the paper reflects that. Or the textiles were dyed with natural dyes, and these obviously fade under light. And so we much prefer to organise a major show every two or three years in one location, rather than take risks with a permanent travelling exhibition.

(smow)blog: Which means the exhibition here is a one-off chance to see this collection of objects in one place?

Dr. Annemarie Jaeggi: Yes. And the last major Bauhaus exhibition in London was in 1968 to mark the 50th anniversary. And so its something unique and very special that is on show here.

Bauhaus Art as Life runs at the Barbican Art Gallery London until August 12th 2012.

Bauhaus Art as Life @ Barbican Art Gallery London

Bauhaus Art as Life @ Barbican Art Gallery London

Bauhaus Art as Life @ Barbican Art Gallery London

Bauhaus Travel Book Weimar Dessau Berlin

Bauhaus travelled a lot. Not only itself as an institution, but also in terms of the dispersion of its students and professors.

And so, tempting as it can be to limit Bauhaus to a few sites in Weimar, Berlin and Dessau to do so is not only to ignore a lot of the Bauhaus story. But also to deny yourself the chance to experience some truly revolutionary and inspiring buildings. But where to start ? How can one best find the remaining traces of Bauhaus outwith its main centres? And what about all the lesser known works in the main centres ?

If only there was an authoritative and informative travel guide….

Published as a joint venture from the Bauhaus Archiv Berlin, Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau and the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, “Bauhaus Travel Book. Weimar. Dessau. Berlin”  sets out to be such a guide.

Starting at the Bauhaus Museum in Weimar and travelling over locations such as Jena, Dessau or Halle and on to Berlin and Bernau, “Bauhaus Travel Book. Weimar. Dessau. Berlin” doesn’t just concern itself with the buildings – well known and less – but also with the story of Bauhaus in its three locations. And as such sets the works in the context of the Bauhaus story. And the story of Bauhaus in the context of the works. A concept that is supported by the regular quotes from important figures and shorts texts that set the whole period in a socio-cultural context.

In addition to the main texts “Bauhaus Travel Book. Weimar. Dessau. Berlin” also presents a brief introduction to Bauhaus and important visitor information for the relevant buildings. The final chapter then follows the Bauhaus trail into the wider world.

What especially appeals to us is that not only were three authors commissioned to write a text about each location, but also the photos in the book have been specially commissioned for the project. The message is clear: This isn’t a book that recycles but rather sets out to tell the story with its own voice.

And in our opinion they achieve that every well. Not least because the tone of the texts are a lot more personal than one is used to in books about Bauhaus. One feels as if one is in a conversation with the authors. Rather than being talked at by a museum guide.

As such “Bauhaus Travel Book. Weimar. Dessau. Berlin” is a book that can be read just as well as a non-fiction reference text at home as an aid and accessory when travelling.

If we did have one criticism it would be the format. Apparently the original idea was to have a book that could fit in your jacket pocket. The final version not only doesn’t, but with its “less than robust” cardboard cover you probably wouldn’t want to. And heaven forbid it should rain as you cross the Park an der Ilm to get to Haus am Horn. We suspect our copy will be damaged in about three months. For us a travel guide should have a certain robustness. Like all who travel.

For all with an interest in Bauhaus, be it from the perspective or art, design, furniture, architecture or crafts “Bauhaus Travel Book. Weimar. Dessau. Berlin” provides not only a fresh perspective on the institution and its work but also the incentive to get out and experience it for yourself. And for all who are only vaguely aware of what Bauhaus means, but are keen to know more “Bauhaus Travel Book. Weimar. Dessau. Berlin” is an excellent starting point.

And if you find books a little to “Information 1.0″ the new Bauhaus Online App not only compliments “Bauhaus Travel Book. Weimar. Dessau. Berlin” but also extends and expands the information. At least if you’ve got an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. We hope an Android version is in preparation. It’s what Gropius would want. None of this elitism…..

Bauhaus Travel Book. Weimar. Dessau. Berlin is available now from all reputable booksellers.

Bauhaus Dessau

Haus am Horn from Georg Muche in Weimar

The gymnasium of the Bundesschule Bernau from Hannes Meyer

Charlotte Perriand with Le Corbusier und Pierre Jeanneret

Perhaps best known for her numerous co-operations with Le Corbusier, the Parisian architect and designer Charlotte Perriand played an instrumental role in developing the European modern movement: Not least as Charlotte Perriand is credited with converting Le Corbusiers modern furniture ideas into reality and so establishing the tradition of minimal, bent chrome steel tube and leather furniture.

Among the most famous of these collaborations are the from Cassina produced LC4 Chaise Longue, LC2 Armchair and LC7 Swivel Chair which Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand originally created for their “Maison la Roche” in Paris.

Charlotte Perriand with Le Corbusier was however only one chapter in a life and career that also involved collaborations with Fernand Leger and Jean Prouvé and stations in Moscow, Japan, Vietnam and Brasil.

LC4 by Charlotte Perriand Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret through Cassina

And it is her time in Brasil that is the subject of an exhibition at the Gewerbemuseum in Winterthur which opens on July 4th.

“Charlotte Perriand und ihre Spuren in Brasilien” is essentially devoted to a flat she designed and built in Rio de Janeiro during the early 1960s. The exhibition curators have rebuilt the flat and its interior in 1:2 scale in Winterthur and use it to explore Charlotte Perriand’s approach to her work and the design philosophies that guided her.

On July 16th the Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich opens its exhibition “Charlotte Perriand: Designer, Photographer, Activist”. With an extensive accompanying programme the Zürich exhibition focuses less on Charlotte Perriand’s architecture and more on her furniture design, photography and her social commitment and activism.

Together the two exhibitions offer a rare chance to learn more about the life and work of one of the few women who could establish themselves in the male dominated, and heavily patriarchal society that was inter-war France.  Women in France didn’t get the vote until 1944 – by which point Charlotte Perriand, as well as the Paris based Eileen Gray, had already not only established themselves but also helped define the modern movement.

Charlotte Perriand und ihre Spuren in Brasilien runs at the Gewerbemuseum Winterthur from July 4th until August 22nd.

Charlotte Perriand Designer, Photographer, Activist runs at the Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich from July 16th until 24th October.

And the two museums are only 25 kms apart. So a nice days walk during a Swiss holiday.