RIBA goes beyond Bauhaus with its latest exhibition in London

In a year rich in Bauhaus inspired offerings, as institutions across the globe celebrate 100 years from the foundation of the famous German school, it might be hard to catch the public's attention. Yet the latest show at London's RIBA headquarters, ‘Beyond Bauhaus: Modernism In Britain 1933-66', succeeds in stealing the spotlight with a show that explores what Bauhaus' principles meant for Britain.
Featuring rare treats and information on lesser-known projects of the era, such as drawings produced during a short-lived partnership between Walter Gropius and Maxwell Fry, the exhibition focuses on the British legacy of three Bauhaus émigrés – Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer and Maszlo Moholy-Nagy. Using the few years (1934-37), when all three were in Britain, as a springboard, ‘Beyond Bauhaus' delves into drawings, photography, film and illustration to uncover how the movement inspired and influenced, and eventually changed British architecture.
Designs for a house by Sir Leslie Martin and Sadie Speight, 1935.
‘It is a survey of what was happening in British architecture at the time’, explains RIBA curator of exhibitions Pete Collard. It is about these modernist ideas that travelled from Europe ‘and how they gestate and developed here.’
Chilean architecture firm Pezo von Ellrichshausen's ingenious exhibition design is crucial to that. Taking what effectively is a show of archival material – mostly two-dimensional prints of photography and drawings – and giving it a third dimension is one mean feat, but the studio's clever set up of coloured pillars and cut out peep-holes does the trick, attracting the eye and helping you move through the show.
RELATED STORY
In terms of content, the exhibition is divided – quite discreetly – into three parts. The first section ‘doesn’t contain built projects', says Collard. ‘It is more about the excitement about this new movement,’ and takes the visitor through theoretical schemes and visionary but unbuilt work, following the teachings and networks of those three Bauhaus tutors.
In the second part of the exhibition however, this changes. 'Chapter two is all about the house,’ explains RIBA curator of photographs Valeria Carullo. The journey here guides us through buildings in the domestic scale, but also looks at interiors and furniture. Maxwell Fry's Sun House and Connell, Ward and Lucas' High and Over House are among the offerings.
Finally, chapter three expands and zooms out to look at the larger scale, including projects such as multi-family housing, healthcare and education, focusing on the point when pioneering modernist ideas went beyond private houses and involved the public sector and more sociologically-minded work. ‘This section is much about the legacy of those ideas and opportunities that hadn’t had the chance to be put into action as yet,’ says Collard.
A four-month programme of events has been curated to accompany the show, spanning film screenings, talks and workshops.
INFORMATION
‘Beyond Bauhaus’ is on view at the Architecture Gallery, RIBA, until 1 February 2020
ADDRESS
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
RIBA
66 Portland Place
W1B 1AD
London
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Ferrari hopes to recapture the grand tourer crown with the striking new Ferrari Amalfi
The new Ferrari Amalfi coasts into view, a classically beautifully V8-powered GT that features a host of upgrades to aesthetics and tech within a minimal, uncluttered silhouette
-
Puiforcat brings something new to the table with a wooden cutlery set
Jasper Morrison's collection for Puiforcat features cherry wood cutlery finished with fuki-urushi lacquering, a first foray into wood for the silverware company
-
A clifftop Rethymno house tells a story, framing views as far as the Libyan Sea
This house in Rethymno on the Greek island of Crete, designed by architects Gkotsis Serafimidou, is rich in local and natural materials – an oasis at which to disconnect
-
A guide to modernism’s most influential architects
From Bauhaus and brutalism to California and midcentury, these are the architects who shaped modernist architecture in the 20th century
-
Mayumi Miyawaki’s Fukumura Cottage puts this lesser-known Japanese modernist in the spotlight
Discover the little-known modernist architect through this private home in Japan’s Tochigi prefecture countryside
-
Eileen Gray: A guide to the pioneering modernist’s life and work
Gray forever shaped the course of design and architecture. Here's everything to know about her inspiring career
-
Discover Canadian modernist Daniel Evan White’s pitch-perfect homes
Canadian architect Daniel Evan White (1933-2012) had a gift for using the landscape to create extraordinary homes; revisit his story in an article from the Wallpaper* archives (first published in 2011)
-
A night at Pierre Jeanneret’s house, Chandigarh’s best-kept secret
Pierre Jeanneret’s house in Chandigarh is a modernist monument, an important museum of architectural history, and a gem hidden in plain sight; architect, photographer and writer Nipun Prabhakar spent the night and reported back
-
Lina Bo Bardi, the misunderstood modernist, and her influential architecture
A sense of mystery clings to Lina Bo Bardi, a modernist who defined 20th-century Brazilian architecture, making waves still felt in her field; here, we explore her work and lasting influence
-
Oscar Niemeyer: a guide to the Brazilian modernist, from big hits to lesser-known gems
Architecture master Oscar Niemeyer defined 20th-century architecture and is synonymous with Brazilian modernism; our ultimate guide explores his work, from lesser-known schemes to his big hits; and we revisit a check-in with the man himself
-
Modernist Travel Guide: a handy companion to explore modernism across the globe
‘Modernist Travel Guide’, a handy new pocket-sized book for travel lovers and modernist architecture fans, comes courtesy of Wallpaper* contributor Adam Štěch and his passion for modernism