Archaeology of Modernism

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In the process of renovating Walter Gropius's seminal 1926 Bauhaus building in Dessau, Germany, which was added to UNESCO's World Heritage list in 1996, architectural plans were unearthed among sheaves of long-forgotten paperwork, door handles discovered in the basement and original windows found in a greenhouse. This icon of Modernism and brick-and-mortar manifesto of Bauhaus ideas has always been regarded as a revolution in twentieth century architecture--not merely as the formal, architectonic expression of Modernist ideals, but as a laboratory for the technical innovations in building materials and methods that helped to drive that design. Archaeology of Modernism explores the design school's construction in light of early twentieth-century culture and society and its renovation today, recording the detective work that went into its restoration, and offering up surprising rediscovered details, including its original paint colors.