Quarantine Book / B IS FOR BAUHAUS

Deyan Sudjic: B is for Bauhaus. London: Penguin Books, 2014

Brilliantly yet very engagingly and nonbanally written texts about the world of architecture and design in alphabetically arranged essays.

“Every day we use objects and concepts that seem so common to us that we don’t even think about their nature and origin. We drive in cars, sit in chairs, type on keyboards, zip up several times a day, cook in the kitchen, watch YouTube, visit museums, shop at IKEA, and use terms like authenticity, taste, imperfection, fashion or design. In his alphabetically arranged essays on everyday objects as well as major designers and art movements, Deyan Sudjic, director of London’s Design Museum, journalist and critic, engagingly reveals how the way things are designed and how we use them affects our understanding of the world around us. This thematically diverse, readable book, full of inspiring ideas and refreshing personal memories, is as much about the world as we see it in the rear-view mirror in the video game Grand Theft Auto V as it is about digital ornaments and our love of imperfection. It’s also about sipping dry martinis in Loos’ American bar in Vienna, and about architecture in Alfred Hitchcock’s films, about fashion and technology, politics and art. It shows that thinking about things shapes pop culture in important ways, and that design is, for better or worse, an essential part of our everyday lives. Please note: The graphic design of the book is based on the original edition, e.g. the title and pagination of the Critical Design chapter is upside down, this is the author’s intention.”