Architecture And Design : Germany

Retrospect. German architecture set trends in the first 30 years of the 20th century. The strongest influences came from Weimar and Dessau, where the Bauhaus school was founded in the 1920s and the style that bears its name evolved. Under the leadership of Walter Gropius (1883-1969) and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), the Bauhaus style spread to the far corners of the earth. Today masterpieces of its synthesis of architecture, technology and functionality can be found all over the world.

German contemporary architecture long suffered from the country’s difficult situation after 1945. Germany’s destroyed cities and towns had to be rebuilt quickly. Millions of people needed inexpensive housing. Architectural quality often took a back seat to a primarily economically oriented functionalism in building and construction which paid little heed to shaping a livable residential and working environment.