Bauhaus adventures

balconies
Originally uploaded by sarahlefton.

So I could never really have told you what Bauhaus was before, although I knew it was an architectural movement out of Germany. Now I'm a pro.
I did a very typically nerdy Sarah thing and bought a book that is a guide to 100 important Bauhaus examples in Tel Aviv, which is famously the most Bauhaus-y city in the world, with at least a thousand examples. I spent a day wandering through town, looking at these buildings and reading my little critical guide. I learned a lot.
Bauhaus was adopted by early Zionists for a bunch of really comrehensible reasons:
1. It was a new movement that owed little to the old Europe that poineers were rejecting.
2. It relied on simple forms and inexpensive materials (which ultimately has led to decay, the shadow side of these buildings.)
3. The philosophy was perfect - there should not be a separation between architecture and engineering..those who design a building should be able to produce it as well.