Bauhaus bound: coffee table books that celebrate the school’s centenary

Publishers have spread themselves thin over the Bauhaus centenary – concrete-like, covering new ground. Everyone has found an innovative way to approach the subject, all the while republishing editions with updated introductions. It's been a big old year for Bauhaus – here are some of our favourite printed celebrations

(Image credit: press)

By Melina Keays

last updated 11 October 2022

in Buying Guides

Bauhaus
Taschen

Covering the full extent of the Bauhaus school from architecture, design, fine art, craftsmanship, and technology, to film to theatre, sculpture and ceramics, this book published in collaboration with the Bauhaus-Archiv/Museum für Gestaltung in Berlin aims to be the go-to encyclopedia of Bauhaus. Edited by author and art history professor, Magdalena Droste, this updated edition is brimming full of colour, ideas and some 550 illustrations. As well as objects and outcomes, it covers Bauhaus theory and the key personalities of the community in detail. $50, taschen.com

Isokon and the Bauhaus in Britain

Pavilion books

Authors Leyla Daybelge and Magnus Englund tell the story of Bauhaus professors Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer and László Moholy-Nagy at the Isokon building in Hampstead. The three men fled Nazi Germany in the mid-1930s and found refuge at The Lawn Road Flats, or Isokon building (as it came to be known) – England's first modernist apartment building built in 1934. The trio were employed by Jack and Molly Pritchard, who commissioned the building, at the Isokon design company to progress the vision with furniture design, architecture and graphic design. £25, pavilionbooks.com

Bauhaus Journal 1926–1931 facsimile edition

Lars Müller

Edited by Lars Müller in collaboration with Bauhaus-Archiv/Museum für Gestaltung, Berlin, this collection of Bauhaus journals presents a ‘significant written testimony of this iconic movement’. Published featuring some of the leading voices of the movement including Josef Albers, Walter Gropius, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, László Moholy-Nagy, Oskar Schlemmer, Herbert Bayer, Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Gerrit Rietveld, the journal addresses developments of the movement, methods, teaching points, projects or students and masters. The journal was published by Gropius and Moholy-Nagy periodically from 1926 to 1931. €70, lars-mueller-publishers.com

Bauhaus 100: Sites of Modernism

Hatje Cantz

This travelling tome curates 100 Bauhaus sites across Germany in an effort to reveal how the movement shaped ‘life, work, learning and living’ across the world. Pitched as a travel guide, the book features recognisable works of architecture alongside insider’s tips for visits, illustrations, practical information and maps. Accompanying essays by Werner Durth and Wolfgang Pehnt bring further context and history to the Bauhaus and its global influence. €18, hatjecantz.de

The ABC's of Triangle, Square, Circle: The Bauhaus and Design Theory

Princeton Architectural Press

This republished edition of the 1991 version broke new ground by looking at the history of Bauhaus from the angle of psychoanalysis, geometry, early childhood education, and popular culture. It also introduced the work of two young designers – Ellen Lupton and J. Abbott Miller, whose multidisciplinary outlook marked an evolution in the design and publishing fields. For this new edition, Lupton – senior curator of contemporary design at Cooper Hewitt – and Abbott Miller, partner in the New York office of Pentagram, have added a new preface for the occasion of the Bauhaus centenary. $29.95, papress.com

Melina Keays is the entertaining director of Wallpaper*. She has been part of the brand since the magazine’s launch in 1996, and is responsible for entertaining content across the print and digital platforms, and for Wallpaper’s creative agency Bespoke. A native Londoner, Melina takes inspiration from the whole spectrum of art and design – including film, literature, and fashion. Her work for the brand involves curating content, writing, and creative direction – conceiving luxury interior landscapes with a focus on food, drinks, and entertaining in all its forms