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The Deutscher Werkbund (German Work Federation) was a German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 association of artists, architects, designers, and industrialists. The Werkbund was to become an important event in the development of modern architecture
Modern architecture

Modern architecture is a set of building styles with similar characteristics, primarily the simplification of form and the elimination of Ornament ....
 and industrial design, particularly in the later creation of the Bauhaus school of design. Its initial purpose was to establish a partnership of product manufacturers with design professionals to improve the competitiveness of German companies in global markets.

The Werkbund was founded in 1907 in Munich
Munich

Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....
 at the instigation of Hermann Muthesius
Hermann Muthesius

Adam Gottlieb Hermann Muthesius , known as Hermann Muthesius, was a Germany architect, author and diplomat, perhaps best known for promoting many of the ideas of the England Arts and Crafts movement within Germany and for his subsequent influence on early pioneers of German Modern architecture such as the Bauhaus....
, existed through 1934, then re-established after World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 in 1950.






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The Deutscher Werkbund (German Work Federation) was a German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 association of artists, architects, designers, and industrialists. The Werkbund was to become an important event in the development of modern architecture
Modern architecture

Modern architecture is a set of building styles with similar characteristics, primarily the simplification of form and the elimination of Ornament ....
 and industrial design, particularly in the later creation of the Bauhaus school of design. Its initial purpose was to establish a partnership of product manufacturers with design professionals to improve the competitiveness of German companies in global markets.

The Werkbund was founded in 1907 in Munich
Munich

Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....
 at the instigation of Hermann Muthesius
Hermann Muthesius

Adam Gottlieb Hermann Muthesius , known as Hermann Muthesius, was a Germany architect, author and diplomat, perhaps best known for promoting many of the ideas of the England Arts and Crafts movement within Germany and for his subsequent influence on early pioneers of German Modern architecture such as the Bauhaus....
, existed through 1934, then re-established after World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 in 1950. Muthesius was the author of the exhaustive three-volume "The English House" of 1905, a survey of the practical lessons of the English Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts movement

The Arts and Crafts Movement was a United Kingdom, Canada, and United States aesthetic movement occurring in the last years of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century....
. Muthesius was seen as something of a cultural ambassador, or industrial spy, between Germany and England.

The Werkbund was less an artistic movement than a state-sponsored effort to integrate traditional crafts and industrial mass-production techniques, to put Germany on a competitive footing with England and the United States. Its motto "Vom Sofakissen zum Städtebau" (from sofa cushions to city-building) indicates its range of interest.

The organization originally included twelve architects and twelve business firms. The architects include Peter Behrens
Peter Behrens

*Peter Behrens was a Germany architect and designer....
, Theodor Fischer
Theodor Fischer

Theodor Fischer was a Germany architect and teacher.Fischer planned public housing projects for the city of Munich beginning in 1893. He was the joint founder and first chairman of the Deutscher Werkbund , as well as member of the German version of the Garden city movement....
 (who served as its first president), Josef Hoffmann
Josef Hoffmann

Josef Hoffmann...
, Bruno Paul
Bruno Paul

Bruno Paul was a Germany architect, illustrator, interior designer, and furniture designer.Bruno Paul was born in Seifhennersdorf, a village in rural Saxony, in 1874....
, and Richard Riemerschmid
Richard Riemerschmid

Richard Riemerschmid was a Germany architect and city planner from Munich, a major figure in Art Nouveau in Germany, and a member of the Deutscher Werkbund ....
.

Other architects affiliated with the project include Heinrich Tessenow
Heinrich Tessenow

Heinrich Tessenow was a Germany architect, professor, and urban planner active in the Weimar era....
 and the Belgian Henry van de Velde
Henry van de Velde

Henry Van de Velde was a Belgium painter, architect and interior designer. Together with Victor Horta he can be considered one of the main founders and representatives of Art Nouveau in Belgium....
. The Werkbund commissioned van de Velde to build a theatre for its 1914 Cologne Exhibition in Cologne, the theatre which turned out to be his best work, and which only stood for one year before being destroyed as a result of World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
. Eliel Saarinen
Eliel Saarinen

Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen was a Finland Architecture who became famous for his art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century.Saarinen was educated in Helsinki at the Helsinki University of Technology....
 was made corresponding member of the Deutscher Werkbund in 1914 and was invited to participate in the 1914 Cologne exhibition
Werkbund Exhibition (1914)

The Werkbund Exhibition of 1914 was held in Cologne, Germany. Bruno Taut's best-known building, the prismatic dome of the Glass Pavilion familiar from black and white reproduction, was a brightly colored landmark....
. Its most famous member was the architect Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, who served as Architectural Director.

Key dates of the Deutscher Werkbund:

  • 1907 Establishment of the Werkbund in Munich
  • 1914 Cologne exhibition
    Werkbund Exhibition (1914)

    The Werkbund Exhibition of 1914 was held in Cologne, Germany. Bruno Taut's best-known building, the prismatic dome of the Glass Pavilion familiar from black and white reproduction, was a brightly colored landmark....
  • 1924 Berlin exhibition
  • 1927 Stuttgart exhibition (including the Weissenhof Estate
    Weissenhof Estate

    The Weissenhof Estate is an housing estate of working class housing which was built in Stuttgart in 1927. It was an international showcase of what later became known as the International style of modern architecture....
    )
  • 1929 Breslau exhibition
  • 1938 Werkbund closed by the National Socialists
  • 1949 reestablishment


External links


  • , Martin Gropius Bau
    Martin Gropius Bau

    Martin-Gropius-Bau is one of the most famous and most beautiful exhibition halls in Germany.It was built in Berlin by architects Martin Gropius and Heino Schmieden in the Renaissance style, as an arts and crafts museum....
    , Berlin (in German)