Bauhaus Lab 2015 – "Cracks in the Curtain Wall – Beyond an Architecture of Cleanliness"
- May, 4th to August, 9th 2015 – Bauhaus Lab term
The efforts of the window cleaners on the wooden ladder at the Bauhaus were no more part of the modern narrative than the infrastructures and materialities that appertained to the management of such a building. Photographs of the Bauhaus emphasize the weightlessness and apparent insubstantiality of the building and play down what is required to maintain a glass curtain wall, that is, window cleaning. This is all the more astounding given that the transparent cube articulated a new material culture, which clothed the everyday world in smooth, clean and hard surfaces and was distinguished by the principles of cleanliness, efficiency, hygiene and uniformity.
The Bauhaus Lab, a three-month programme for architectural research at the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, follows up on traces of cleaning on selected architectures of Bauhaus modernism and addresses the sources of friction between buildings, materialities, materials and protagonists behind the scenes of contemporary narratives in architectural history. This archaeology of building cleaning is the starting point for critical reflection concerning the current approaches to an architecture of cleanliness, in search for scenarios of the hybrid conditions of the metabolism between man, object and environment. The programme will end with a jointly curated exhibition, which will be presented as a contribution to the theme of cleaning at the Housekeeping Fair 2015, held at the complex of Masters’ Houses.
- Project management: Dr. Regina Bittner, phone: +49-(0)340-6508- 337
- E-Mail: lab@bauhaus-dessau.de & bittner@bauhaus-dessau.de
- Supported by the Dessauer Verkehrs GmbH and the Bauhaus Association e.V. The Bauhaus Lab is part of the Housekeeping Fair 2015 at the complex of Masters’ Houses, supported by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation).
Young professionals in architecture, design, fine arts and curatorial practice were allowed to apply. Participation is free of costs. Workspaces will be provided at the former metal workshop at the Bauhaus building – at the historical original site. The programme will be held in English. Interested persons were required to submit a statement of interest by March 31st 2015 to the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation. An international jury will choose eight participants by April, 4th 2015.