architecture

]g a l l e r y[ 		It was clear from Gropius's Manifesto that the ultimate aim of the Bauhaus was architecture; the very name Bauhaus suggests it most strongly. Each of the school's three directors, Gropius, Meyer and Van Der Rohe, were above all an architect and, rightly or wrongly, the Bauhaus has become strongly identified with the architectural approach that has variously been called Modernism, The Modern Movement or the International Style.

The debate surrounding Modernism or the new architecture was carried on in terms heavy with moral conotations: truth, purity and honesty. Democracy even entered into it with the attempt to suppress the predominance of one face of the building in favor of buildings that would only be appreciated by walking around or through them.

The structure of the building had to be expressed clearly by its outward appearance. In formal terms, the horizontal was emphasised rather than the imposing verticals of 19th Century public buildings; flat planes were interlocked at right angles and surfaces were rendered white to symbolize purity and clarity. One of the most controversial elements in the german context was the use of the flat roof; the pitched roof was seen in conservative circles as inalienably Germanic.

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