Deutscher Werkbund German Artistic and Production Association

Founding and Philosophy of Deutscher Werkbund

The organisation, Deutscher Werkbund was founded in Munich (1907) to improve product design through the joint efforts of artists, craftsmen, and manufacturers: its leading lights were Behrens, Theodor Fischer, Hermann Muthesius and Fritz Schumacher. They also borrowed concepts from the Austrian Jugendstil movement, the Dutch De Stijl group and Russian constructivism. In the public mind, the movement quickly became linked to the Bauhaus. Bauhaus designers and artisans have loudly denounced the preceding century’s architecture and design and rejected historical styles as representative of undemocratic, authoritarian societies.

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Industrial Design vs. Artistic Craftsmanship

Deutscher Werkbund organised a major exhibition in Cologne (1914) with Gropius, Taut and van de Velde. Still, a debate arose in which Muthesius argued for industrial design. At the same time, van de Velde spoke for the creative artist/craftsman. After the 1914–18 war, the Werkbund moved away from the Arts-and-Crafts’ redolent position towards the Modern Movement, as the journal Die Form (Design) published in 1925–34 shows. 

A housing exhibition was held in Stuttgart, the Weissenhofsiedlung (1927), under the direction of Mies van der Rohe. It included works by Le Corbusier, Oud, and Stam. Further exhibitions were held in Paris (1930) and Berlin (1931), but they were disbanded (1934).

Shift Towards Modernism

Revived after the 1939–45 war, it published Werk und Zeit in 1952 to promote a modernist ideology. The Werkbund has inspired other organisations in Austria (1912), Switzerland (1913), Sweden (1913) and England (Design and Industries Association of 1915).

The motto of the Deutscher Werkbund was “Quality in Material and Form”.

Sources

Curl, J., & Wilson, S. (2015). Deutscher Werkbund. In A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. : Oxford University Press. Retrieved 8 Feb. 2021

Dayton Daily News. (7 May 1922). Deutscher Werkund Exhibition – Newark Public Library 1922. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 4 May 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/dayton-daily-news-deutscher-werkund-exhi/146575737/

Diefendorf, J. M. (1993). In the Wake of War: The Reconstruction of German Cities After World War II. United States: Oxford University Press, USA.

Liverpool Echo. (28 April 1914). Motto of Deutscher Werkbund. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 4 May 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/liverpool-echo-motto-of-deutscher-werkbu/146575587/

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