1.    craftsmen should be taught to use skills in all arts and not in isolation

2.    to raise the profile of these crafts to the same standards as the Fine Arts

3.    to communicate directly with the public and industry.

in its time it moved from Weimar to Dessau to Berlin and was finally closed by order of Hitler in 1933.  Many teachers and supporters of this Left-wing organisation moved to America and took their way of looking at the world of art and manufacture with them.

Whilst over the short time that the movement had control in Germany it had to undergo significant change (largely because the romantic ideals of the movement quickly had to be tempered by an understand of the need for realism and the use of industry) it was, nevertheless to have an important impact on the way we think today.  It's influence could be felt in the way art was taught (hands-on) and in the furniture and interiors many of us have come to accept as 'modern'.

Fundamentally, the movement was grounded in the ideals of the Industrial Revolution - the use of new materials and the use of machinery to result in the production of well-made, low cost items for all thus generating increased profits.  In effect, it was the exact opposite of the teachings of William Morris and other members of the Arts and Crafts movement where it was believed that individually, hand crafted items were the way forward.  Additionally, it Bauhaus was not as extreme as the likes of Gottfried Semper, a German architect, who had been living in England at the time of the Great Exhibition who believed that as technology was the way forward 'old' crafts should be downgraded and a new understanding of how to exploit machinery should be taught.

Gropius sought to create a mini-commune for his students and this was achieved with the design of the Dessau campus with its three wings for teaching, working and living areas.  Many areas of the arts were covered included furniture design, sculpture and metalwork.  It was whilst at Dessau that a design classic was first created:

 Wassily Chair 1925

This chair was made of tubular steel and leather, fabric or canvas and was designed for the artist Wassily Kandinsky by another member of group - Marcel Beuer.

Like Le Corbusier and other designers around Europe these designers and crafts people adopted structural steel and concrete in a lot of their functional designs for buildings and interiors.  These 'hard' materials were barely relieved by the use of similar materials for the 'soft' furnishings. 

Colour was another important area of the design process of Bauhaus with both Johannes Itten and Kandinsky seeking to teach an understanding of how colour could interact with itself and its surroundings (more information is available on how to use Colour in Design) and how elements within a design layout also interact with other pieces and the space around them.

Composition V111 1923 by Kandinsky