At a time when the idea of the Bauhaus seems to have become little but an empty word that almost anything can be projected onto, we aim to question the Bauhaus’ contemporary relevance. The time has come to take our leave of the Bauhaus in order to face the challenges of the present without bias.

We are experiencing today the emergence of social structures, mindsets, and ways
of life that would be inconceivable without the computer. How will our world change if our material and cognitive actions are increasingly taken over by automation and artificial intelligence?

The Bauhaus sought a synthesis of knowledge in which the various forms of knowledge—technical, scientific, emotional, creative—are interconnected. This concept of knowledge was combined with a new pedagogy to emancipate the people, release their potential, and lead to the creation of a “new man.”

Both the Bauhaus and classical modernism as a whole were deeply committed to establishing universal principles of design. In the spirit of the Enlightenment, these movements grounded the practice of design in an approach based on rational, objective, and universally valid principles.

The point of departure for the first inquiry is the Bauhaus’ utopian aspiration to create a new society through design. To what extent has this aspiration been realised? Or do we ascribe a greater effectiveness to designers than is really the case?