The Digital Bauhaus: aesthetics, politics and technology

An emerging concept of a Digital Bauhaus is described, based around interdisciplinary practices and creative and socially useful products. A short history of the relevant aspects of the original Bauhaus is provided. Three ideas are developed with reference to both this history and contemporary issues. The first concerns a digital aesthetics or style and particularly how we can transcend the simple geometry typical of Bauhaus products. The second concerns the difficulties of genuine collaboration between the creative arts and technology. The third concerns the ethical and political responsibility of design in creating an environment that shapes the lives of others. In this, there is a need to go beyond the materialism of the Bauhaus period and to replace it with the idea of sustainability. The virtuality inherent in digital technologies makes this a distinct possibility.