By Rex Hau
Googling the term ‘Bauhaus’ will show that it’s a brand. But don’t let that fool you. It was a unique movement that fought limitations and artistic dilettantism, embracing rational and minimalist ideals. Among its leading figures, Marcel Breuer stands out as a person whose influence cannot be neglected.
At 19 years old, Breuer was one of the youngest students to enter the Bauhaus. He moved quickly from a student to teacher and then ultimately the head of his own firm. His reputation as a teacher was cemented when he joined Walter Gropius at Harvard University, teaching some of the most successful architects of the postwar era, including I. M. Pei and Philip Johnson, and his early success in education often overshadows his brilliant career as an architect. During his career, he designed every aspect of three-dimensional objects from chairs to gargantuan buildings. Inspired by the shape and form of a bicycle handlebar, Breuer’s iconic design — the Wassily Chair became an instant classic of modern design, and even today it remains one of the most recognizable examples of Bauhaus design. For this chair, he bent tubular steel for the entirety of the structural frame, thereby demonstrating the possibilities of applying modern thinking and innovations to everyday objects. On the other hand, Marcel’s building style — in his own way of playing steel, glass and concrete encapture the idea of “form follows function”. Breuer’s affinity for concrete often creates bold, blocky and imposing architectures which have drawn criticism due to his designs’ heavy-handed massiveness. Nevertheless, Breuer counterbalanced this tendency in his small-scale houses that are notable for their sensitive handling of traditional materials, such as wood and brick.
Marcel’s contributions to the Bauhaus movement constructed the preliminary forms of modern architecture and pushed the development of architecture by a huge step forward. Though decades have passed, his impact can still be seen and felt nowadays around the world.
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