beyond bauhaus - prototyping the future
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Interviews

"Design approaches that reflect the thinking of the times": Interview with Prof. Dr. Zong Mingming

We talked with Prof. Dr. Zong Mingming, beyond bauhaus jury member, about the importance of the Bauhaus, the potential of the winning projects and the international competition. More

"The number of promising ideas is grandiose": Interview with beyond bauhaus jury member Oliver Jahn

We spoke with Oliver Jahn, member of the international jury of the competition „beyond bauhaus - prototyping the future”, about the significance of the bauhaus concept for the present and future, the international competition and the prizewinners. More

"The projects reach beyond the original borders of Bauhaus": Interview with Juliana Braga de Mattos

The international competition "beyond bauhaus - prototyping the future", sought ground-breaking design ideas and concepts that address a socially relevant topic and provide creative answers to the pressing questions of our time.With Juliana Braga de Mattos we talked about the importance of the Bauhaus and the international competition. More

„Combining Realism and Megalomania”: Interview with „beyond bauhaus” jury member Wolfram Putz

The international jury of the competition „beyond bauhaus - prototyping the future” consists of experts from a wide range of design disciplines. Architect Wolfram Putz is one of them and he told us what he associates with the Bauhaus and what he expects of the entries in the competition „beyond bauhaus - prototyping the future“. More

„The Bauhaus as a kickstarter”: Interview with „beyond bauhaus" jury member Christian Benimana

Christian Benimana talked to us about what the Bauhaus idea can still offer students today and about his hope of using the competition to select projects that inspire global solutions. More

„Everyone has a right to good design”: Interview with "beyond bauhaus" jury member Lisa Lang

Lisa Lang, member of the jury of the competition „beyond bauhaus - prototyping the future”, told us how the Bauhaus has influenced her and what design can do for society. More

„The Bauhaus School influenced the way we live today and tomorrow”: Interview with jury member Eyal Gever

Eyal Gever, member of the international jury of the competition „beyond bauhaus - prototyping the future”, told us about the importance of the Bauhaus in Israel and how Bauhaus ideas still influence us today. More

„The Bauhaus as a kick starter”: Interview with „beyond bauhaus” jury member Christian Benimana

Christian Benimana, a member of the beyond bauhaus jury, joined the MASS Design Group as a fellow in 2010. MASS Design Group is a non-profit organisation dedicated to harmonising architecture and social responsibility. Today, he is one of the Principals and a Managing Director of the group, Director of the African Design Centre in Kigali and Secretary General of the East Africa Institute of Architects.

Christian Benimana talked to us about what the Bauhaus idea can still offer students today and about his hope of using the competition to select projects that inspire global solutions.

1. What do you associate with the Bauhaus?
The Bauhaus is easily associated with its contributions to the built environment and artistic canon, many of which remain today as symbols of the movement. The unique approach of the Bauhaus as an institution of experimental education is its most valuable contribution—and, in my opinion, an inspiration for creating such movements. I associate the Bauhaus with a holistic, informed approach to creative outputs that take into account the broader world and context within which they are produced, a kickstarter for a movement that requires design to utilize its full potential to maximize the positive impact it has on the society.

2. To what extent is the Bauhaus known in your country and what significance does it have there?
The Bauhaus, while arguably relevant in any context in which the built environment plays a pivotal role, may appear to offer less to students and practitioners of architecture in East Africa. Regardless of its geographical origins, it has offered a significant and relevant model for pushing the boundaries of traditional architectural education for the African Design Centre’s innovative fellowship. While the challenges faced by ADC fellows are very different than those encountered by early-twentieth-century students at the Bauhaus, the Bauhaus’s design and education methodology encourages a rupture with the status quo to examine and re-address problems, using design innovation and an experiential learning approach to work toward a more humanistic future.

3. In your opinion, what effects do the Bauhaus ideas still have on our everyday lives nowadays and what can we benefit from them in the future?
The exploratory, multidisciplinary, holistic approach of the Bauhaus holds much value today. I hope that graduates of the African Design Centre fellowship and others completing training in creative fields take to heart this approach and apply it through their work. As the world is faced with more challenging global problems and issues arising from our past actions that need to be corrected, this thinking will be relevant in coming up with well-rounded design solutions to these complex problems and contexts.

4. What do you expect from the competition "beyond bauhaus – prototyping the future"?
I hope to see projects that are actionable, respond to the specific contexts in which they are proposed to take place and inspiring to global contexts.

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