In 1919 Germany was not in the best of states. It had been defeated in the war, the economy was collapsing and unemployment was so high it seemed that it was just a matter of time before the people would revolt. In the midst of all this Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus school by combining the Weimar Arts academy and the Weimar arts and crafts school. Gropius’ goal was to bring all the arts together under one roof and have them emerge together with a new architecture that would, through mass production, change the quality of the designed object and environment for everyone.
The Bauhaus masters decided on several principals from which the style would emerge. Firstly, that the new architecture was to be created for the workers. This made sense as the majority of the German public belonged to the working class and with the economic lull and general depression were in most need of an increase of quality of life. The next basic premise from which the new style would spring forth was that the new architecture would reject all things bourgeois. These were the basic principles from which the Bauhaus would establish itself.
The school also had several aims, which over many years of various and constant changes remained essentially the same. The first aim was that each of the arts should no longer work individually on specialized projects but should come together and work cooperatively. The next aim was that the status of the design of everyday objects such as teapots and the like should be given greater artistic appreciation and elevated to the same status as the fine arts. Finally, the Bauhaus aimed to achieve independence from the governments influence by maintaining contact with the heads of industry and selling them designs.