A student at the Bauhaus University works on his project in the metal workshop, in Weimar, eastern Germany, on January 15, 2019. Bauhaus, the design school that left its mark on everything from teapots to tower blocks and iPhones to Ikea, marks its centenary this year, touching off a politically charged debate about its lasting impact. John MACDOUGALL / AFP.

by Deborah Cole

WEIMAR (AFP).- Bauhaus, the design school that left its mark on everything from teapots to tower blocks and iPhones to Ikea, marks its centenary this year, touching off a politically charged debate about its lasting impact. The influence of Bauhaus, created during the turbulent period between the world wars and finally chased out of Germany by the Nazis, can hardly be overstated. Its radical "form follows function" and "less is more" tenets have become so commonplace that the aesthetics of the modern world are unthinkable without them. Weimar, with its winding cobblestone alleys and primly restored historical buildings, might seem like an unlikely ground zero for the bombshell launched by Walter Gropius with the school's founding on April 1, 1919. But the small city 250 kilometres (150 miles) southwest of Berlin has ... More