[dgut]

I visited the Cité U in Paris recently where different countries have residence housing for students, each respective building designed in a particular architectural style.

Germany's Maison Heinrich Heine, constructed in Bauhaus style [1], didn't particularly impress me. It was dull and rather uninteresting. I had the opposite feeling of what one generally fells in a place like this, surrounded by trees and Greek and Roman-inspired architecture like Fondation Rosa Abreu De Grancher [2].

[1] http://www.ciup.fr/maison-heinrich-heine/en/history/

[2] http://www.ciup.fr/fondation-abreu-grancher/en/

[wyxuan]

I think it is a victim of own success. The bauhaus school design has creeped in so many parts of our modern life that the originals no longer seem as interesting. That was a little bit of the vibe I get when I went to the Bauhaus museum in Germany the past summer. It is still beautiful, nevertheless.

[nextos]

Indeed. Bauhaus is the precursor of many modern design schools, like Mid-century Scandinavian.

And modern buildings in this style are a total delight to be in. Functional, simple, bright, cozy and often inexpensive.

But as you say original Bauhaus looks conventional because we judge it by modern standards.

[wbl]

Except in US residential construction where it is vanishingly rare.

[nextos]

Yes, same in UK where sadly designs tend to be quite bland and quality is atrocious.

[bane]

I agree with you. I've had experiences where I'll see a building or piece of furniture and ignore it, only to find out that it's not a "modern" or new building, but was designed and built decades earlier than I may have thought - sometimes even a century ago. In context you realize how important they are even if we've grown used to the look and feel.

[wbl]

Try proposing them in the US.

[john61]

In the past I thought the same. But after visiting the original Bauhaus buildings [1] in Dessau / Germany my mind changed. There is a beauty in this simple, clear and elegant design especially considering the contrast to typical corny buildings of that time.

https://www.bauhaus-dessau.de/de/architektur/bauhausbauten/m...

[ahartmetz]

I had the same feeling. The elegance and human-centeredness of the original is often lost in lesser implementations of the style.

[thomasfl]

Totally agree. There’s simply too much bauhausinspired architecture out there, so now it looks unimaginative and dull.