Book Launch & Panel Discussion
Book Launch: 'Bauhaus x IKEA'

Legacies of Modernism

Thu, 27.10.2022
6:00 PM - 19:30 Goethe-Institut in Sydney

The edited volume Bauhaus x IKEA - Legacies of Modernism explores the far-reaching influence of two 20th-century design icons: the Bauhaus art school and the furniture company IKEA.

The Bauhaus was founded in 1919 and disbanded in 1933, but in its short existence, it served as a crucible of what came to be known as modernist design. It set out to transform daily life for the better by incorporating mass manufacturing techniques into the design of everything from single objects to buildings, putting in motion the democratization of design. Just 10 years after the Bauhaus' closure, this principle would become the theoretical and functional foundation of IKEA.

'Design for everyone', IKEA's guiding principle, is both the embodiment of Bauhaus ideals and a business plan that has seen modernism repackaged in the form of a global consumer goods empire. Considered together, the Bauhaus and IKEA could be said to have profoundly transformed how our societies relate to and understand design and its artifacts. But as we grapple with climate change and the wreckage brought about by the consumer-driven, mass manufacturing models promulgated by the Bauhaus, and then perfected by IKEA, how might we reckon with this legacy, and what can we learn from it?

Through a carefully curated selection of essays and photography, Bauhaus x IKEA traces the profound but not always benign influence of these global design icons across history, politics, pedagogy, art and society.

Panelists:

• Andrew Benjamin, Emeritus Professor, Philosophy, Monash University Melbourne
• Thea Brejzek, Professor of Spatial Theory at UTS Sydney
• Lawrence Wallen, Professor in the School of Architecture at UTS Sydney
• Stefanie Bürkle, Artist and Professor for Visual Art at Technische Universität Berlin
• Rochus Urban Hinkel, Associate Professor for Architecture & Design at University of Melbourne

Moderation: Stephen Todd, Creative director of Sydney Design Week 2022 and design editor of The Australian Financial Review

Bauhaus x IKEA - Legacies of Modernism was edited by Thea Bejzek, Rochus Urban Hinkel, Lawence Wallen and published by URO Publications Melbourne 2022, supported by the Goethe Institut, IKEA Australia and University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

Contributors: Andrew Benjamin, Thea Brejzek and Lawrence Wallen, Stefanie Bürkle, Rebecca Carrai, Rochus Urban Hinkel, Adam Jasper, Axel Kufus, Christof Mayer, Claudia Perren.

FREE ENTRY WITH REGISTRATION