Blog entry in Berlin // Sunday, Nov. 09, 2014
In 1925 Walter Gropius published Internationale Architektur, a photographic survey of what he considered the iconic feats of modern architecture at the time. Alongside images of Bauhaus buildings – the Meisterhäuser and school building in Dessau among them – and well-known buildings by members of the Deutsche Werkbund, he mysteriously integrated several pictures of North American grain silos.
Bauhaus Lab, Running on Reserve: Concerning the Architecture of the Reservoir; Photo by Iris Lacoudre, Courtesy Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau
Gropius had never been to America at that time: his fascination with the concrete industrial architecture of the silos began with a transfer of images. These structures were a sign of a budding interest in architectural forms. But Gropius was interested neither in their function, nor in the role these structures played in the emerging industrialisation of agriculture at the time.
Internationale Architektur revealed, photographically, a first encounter between architecture and agriculture. The research of the 2014 Bauhaus Lab begins where Gropius’ fascination left off. The Lab looks at the complex networks of agents and ideologies, multilayered history and global geography hidden behind these monumental idols of industry, and their relationship to storage practices worldwide.
The Bauhaus Lab is a postgraduate program for research and material intervention in the field of architecture, design and urbanism. Annually, participants are chosen for a three month residency that culminates in an exhibition of the collaborative research conducted and curated by the group. This is the second year of the Lab, with seven selected international participants from different disciplines.
The results of the 2014 Bauhaus Lab will be presented by the group on November 14th and the exhibition will be up in the Bauhaus Dessau until January 5th, 2015.
Bauhaus Lab 2014 Team: Dr. Regina Bittner, Michael Zinganel, Dr. Katja Szymczak, Philline Schneider
Bauhaus Lab 2014 Participants : Sofia Branco (Portugal); Dan Dorocic (Canada); Irina Goryacheva (Russia); Jennifer Heinfield (USA); Alison Hugill (Canada); Iris Lacoudre (France); Christopher McDonnell (Ireland)
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Additional Information
STIFTUNG BAUHAUS DESSAU
“Running on Reserve: Concerning the Architecture of the Reservoir” – Bauhaus Lab
Exhibition: Nov. 14, 2014 – Jan. 05, 2015
Opening Reception: Friday, Nov. 14; 6pm
Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau (click here for map)
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