May the brand new European Bauhaus encourage Nice Britain?
The original Bauhaus emerged from the twin catastrophes of the First World War and the flu epidemic that followed. It was opened in its original location in Weimar, Germany in 1919 with the aim of bringing art and craft together to develop new ways of living for a better future world.
In view of the two similarly disheartening crises of Covid-19 and the climate emergency, the European Commission has now announced the introduction of a new European Bauhaus “to design future ways of life that lie at the interface between art, culture and social inclusion, science and technology … a collaborative effort to envision and build a future that is sustainable, inclusive and beautiful to our minds and souls. "
The NEB will run in conjunction with the European Green Deal, a series of policy initiatives aimed at making the EU climate neutral by 2050. With a knowing allusion to the modernist dictum that "form follows function", the New Bauhaus asks us to consider instead that "form follows the planet". “We want to create a design movement that integrates three dimensions: sustainability (including circularity), quality of experience (including aesthetics) and inclusion (including affordability),” the starting material announces. "Creativity consists in finding affordable, integrative and attractive solutions for our climatic challenges."
The appeal to the name Bauhaus with all its connotations of socially conscious, forward-looking and great design for the masses is a wise positioning
Appealing to the name Bauhaus, with all its connotations of socially conscious, forward-thinking and great design for the masses, is a wise positioning of the European Commission, which will lead the initiative. But it's also a bit misleading. The NEB will not be an educational institution; There will be no bold college buildings (like the original Bauhaus in Dessau above), no students (at least not from what has been announced so far) and probably no crazy costume parties either. Instead, this new Bauhaus, as it seems appropriate in our socially distant times, will be virtual. It is a project, not a place: "A design laboratory, an accelerator and a network at the same time … at the interface between art, culture and science."