Hobbit style magic
Catarina Araújo
"… and what about Bauhaus, Mr Wagener?"
Gorden Wagener
Chief design officer for Daimler AG
Especially when you are a German designer working for a German brand, Bauhaus and its ideas have a big influence. Even when you have a tradition even longer than Bauhaus – like we have as the inventor of the automobile. For Mercedes-Benz, it’s crucial that we maintain our roots. German design, especially German car design, is very successful worldwide. Why is that so? Yes, we are inspired by Bauhaus. The ideas of simplicity, perfect craftsmanship, I even would say art, are rooted in Bauhaus. The "Bauhaus” design approach is very intellectual. Everything has to have a reason. As car designers we believe in simplicity, purity, rationality. And designers are definitely intellectual people.
But there’s more: we at Mercedes-Benz add another aspect to this design school. We add emotion to all the rationality Bauhaus stands for. Our design philosophy is - in a nutshell - "hot” and "cool”. The cool part is reduction, purity - this part of our design language makes it "German” and sustainable, in a sense of long lasting. Our design philosophy is named Sensual Purity and we combine sensual emotions - which I regard as crucial for a luxury brand - with purity, cleanness and simplicity, which goes back to Bauhaus.
After the merger of two car companies, Daimler and Benz, in 1926, the foundation was laid. The rational "Benz” stood for functional vehicles, the emotional "Daimler”, with its glamorous "Mercedes” brand, built race cars and prestige vehicles. Both poles have been rooted deeply within our genes ever since DaimlerBenz was founded. We have a strong legacy with the basis of our design; both poles are what make us luxury. Bauhaus wasn’t luxury design at first, it was simplicity in design.
Bauhaus staff wanted to look far ahead into the future. The true sense was innovation. We are familiar with this at Daimler these days. But we are shaping much more than products: we shape the future of our company, the brands and the products.
As I’m a true believer in beauty my personal goal is shaping the future with the most desirable products and creating the most loved luxury brand. That’s quite Bauhaus: straight to the point.
But there’s more: we at Mercedes-Benz add another aspect to this design school. We add emotion to all the rationality Bauhaus stands for. Our design philosophy is - in a nutshell - "hot” and "cool”. The cool part is reduction, purity - this part of our design language makes it "German” and sustainable, in a sense of long lasting. Our design philosophy is named Sensual Purity and we combine sensual emotions - which I regard as crucial for a luxury brand - with purity, cleanness and simplicity, which goes back to Bauhaus.
After the merger of two car companies, Daimler and Benz, in 1926, the foundation was laid. The rational "Benz” stood for functional vehicles, the emotional "Daimler”, with its glamorous "Mercedes” brand, built race cars and prestige vehicles. Both poles have been rooted deeply within our genes ever since DaimlerBenz was founded. We have a strong legacy with the basis of our design; both poles are what make us luxury. Bauhaus wasn’t luxury design at first, it was simplicity in design.
Bauhaus staff wanted to look far ahead into the future. The true sense was innovation. We are familiar with this at Daimler these days. But we are shaping much more than products: we shape the future of our company, the brands and the products.
As I’m a true believer in beauty my personal goal is shaping the future with the most desirable products and creating the most loved luxury brand. That’s quite Bauhaus: straight to the point.
