The heritage of Bauhaus and the concept of health-affirming everyday places

This paper discusses how the concept of health affirming places, which influence physical, mental and spiritual healing, is rooted in the original Bauhaus philosophy. The main aim of Bauhaus was to unite all forms of creative arts to shape a human-friendly environment. The Bauhaus architecture is the architecture of everyday esthetics, humble, mindful and sensitive. Its user would enjoy well-defined details and high quality of materials. Social engagement and integration with other disciplines of art were the foundation for the Bauhaus philosophy. The original Bauhaus goal was to create art which then shapes people. Today it is important to bring this approach back because modern architecture lost this focus over time and is often met with social disapproval. This criticism spurred research and inspired numerous studies on what makes a human-friendly environment. Many studies proved the importance of ecology and everyday contact with nature. It was also demonstrated that beauty, understood as aesthetically pleasing built environments, are invaluable. It is important to revive the original Bauhaus philosophy to create health-affirming places. An example of contemporary residential architecture is presented at the end of this paper.