Educational Approaches of the Bauhaus from Weimar to Berlin and their Reflections on the Design Practices of Graduate Architects

The mechanization of the world after the industrial revolution created different social needs. Although theIndustrial Revolution brought significant changes to production techniques and societal needs, the persistenceof art in maintaining its traditional trajectory has given rise to various debates. One of the solutions developedin response to these debates was the Bauhaus School, which aimed to integrate art and craft by establishinga model of education where artists actively participated in the production process through workshops withinthe institution. By means of the workshops established within the school, students were able to experienceboth theoretical and practical education simultaneously, thereby ensuring the direct involvement of the artistin the production process. Throughout its 14 years of operation, the Bauhaus School, which functioned in threedifferent locations (Weimar, Dessau, and Berlin) due to various pressures, maintained its mission unchanged;however, significant differences emerged in its educational planning during this period. Due to changes ineducational planning resulting from the school’s relocations, this study examines the Bauhaus School acrossthree distinct periods: Weimar, Dessau, and Berlin. Accordingly, this study argues that the distinctive educationalapproaches implemented by the Bauhaus during its Weimar, Dessau, and Berlin periods had a significant andtraceable impact on the architectural design practices of its graduates. In this context, this study aims toexamine the impact of the education provided during the three distinct periods of the Bauhaus School on thedesign approaches and building practices of its graduate architects. Within the scope of the study, the linkbetween the educational experience and professional practice is examined in order to evaluate the concreteimpacts of Bauhaus education on architecture. The study was conducted not merely through a descriptiveapproach but within an interpretative framework aimed at identifying the relationships between the educationalcontent of specific periods and the design outcomes. Accordingly, data regarding the education provided atthe Bauhaus School were examined across three distinct periods—Weimar, Dessau, and Berlin—and therelationship between the educational approaches of these periods and the professional works of their graduatearchitects was analyzed comparatively. In this context, graduates of the Bauhaus School whose data wereaccessed in written sources were assessed using a document analysis method. Following the listing process,five architects each from the Weimar, Dessau, and Berlin periods were selected. The architects were selectedbased on criteria including having received their education during the respective period, continuing theirprofessional career as architects, demonstrating professional productivity, and having publicly accessible information available about their works. The impact of the Bauhaus educational approach on the designapproaches of its graduate architects is discussed through analyses of the buildings designed and producedby the selected architects. In addition to employing a descriptive approach, the study adopts an interpretativeframework aimed at establishing a relationship between the period-specific educational content and the designoutcomes. The analysis suggests that the education applied at Bauhaus left distinct stylistic imprints on thearchitectural works of its graduate architects.