A sunny day in Weimar - that ended with a schnitzel!

 

Recognise the style of the chairs or the “bungalow” house? Intrigued by the child’s cot/rocker or the “Oh-so-everyday” simple lines of the large building? All these can be found in Weimar, Germany, home to the birth of the Bauhaus movement. A super little city packed with culture, history - some of it dark - and some nice restaurants! It was here after the devastation and pain of the First World War that a group of academics, artists and master craftsmen and craftswomen set out to create a new environment for humanity that would set men and women free to live life in a way that was life affirming and fulfilling. The influence of their Bauhaus school which continued from 1919 until 1933/4 spread throughout the world as the embodiment of how a thought through egalitarian approach to design and production could lift the soul and sustain a good community life. Art combined with industry created a design portfolio that in many cases is still in production today and is “modern” 100 years on from their first production.

That’s Bauhaus!

So what about this theology-thought-experiment….

The ten principles outlined in the last post are not the sum of knowledge or technique that a designer needs to grasp but they guide the way in which all other knowledge is selected, used, balanced and integrated in the design process. 

For example, an everyday object like a chair might seem easy to design; human beings have been making and designing chairs for thousands of years and by now have a good idea what makes a good chair. The knowledge of good chair design has been accumulated, distilled and passed down over countless generations. Although the user of a chair knows simply by feel how good and comfortable a chair is when they sit down, the chair designer or craftsman will need to have an innate grasp of many disciplines; including the physiology of human body, utility of purpose, materials science, the properties of textiles, colour science, physics, the techniques of production engineering, sustainability and economics if they are to design a good seat. 

The ten principles act as a guide to ensure the end result of a process of design “fits” what is needed by balancing all the disciplines without skewing the design by a designer’s blinkered “idolatry” of any one or two disciplines over and above consideration of the others. 

By bringing all knowledge and skill into play the end result should be a chair that is comfortable, functional, attractive, sustainable, reliable and desirable.

This approach, building on traditional craft skills and modern scientific analysis has influenced and shaped our modern lives. These principles make explicit what we have known by instinct since pre-history; that the objects we use are often chosen and utilised as extensions of our person and badges of identity. They make our lived environment fit for our bodies and easy on our souls.

Approaching theology as a design discipline: less but better.

Theology is perceived by many as an arcane and ancient if skilful art. It is considered an esoteric field practiced in “ivory towers” rather than a local and domestic practice that can shape the experience, values and lived environment of ordinary people. Such high level theology, being systems of philosophy with their own technical language and internal architecture of reason are “arts” analogues to something in the world “the sciences” such as fluid dynamics or materials science. 

These disciplines are important for underpinning the construction of new theology but do not make for easily understood patterns and paths for flourishing daily living. Just as everyone knows a good chair when they sit down, well crafted and designed theology wether received or challenged is intuitively recognised as addressing what is needful and beneficial for both the existential and immediate dimensions of life.

It is vital for a good designer to be aware of the tools and materials available to them and equally  life circumstances, aspirations and choices of those who will use their designed product. This is necessary if the designed product is to be something sustainable, fit, useful and improves the life of the user. Likewise the theologian must be aware of the material content and tools of communication used in shaping their thought for the purpose of challenging, supporting and improving the situation, outlook and praxis (active conviction) of their fellow human souls.

I suggest that theologians, aware of the historical, social and cultural raw materials of our human situation also have an awareness of the needs and aspirations of human beings if they are to create theology that is easily understood and usable at “domestic” level. We might consider Jesus’ teaching in this light, both in its form and function: for example the domesticity of the parables or the proverbial poetry of the beatitudes. He is the master designer of theology, who knows how to translate spiritual things so great and awesome they are beyond our imagining or conception into wisdom and insight for supporting and improving daily living. His method of teaching offers the exemplary example in how to communicate deep and complex truth in ways that are instantly recognisable; his theology is thought provoking, life affirming, has an elegance that fascinates the mind and is often readily straightforward, if at times challenging, to put into practice.

Well, quite a bit of food for thought there. Next time we will begin to look at the adapted “10 Principles” of good theology. The schnitzel was very nice by the way, as was the sheeps’ cheese crepe I had the following evening! 

Less, but better: ‘Weniger, aber besser”

What follows is a thought experiment in applying the ten principles of good functional design, as structured by renowned designer Dieter Rams, to the design and function of theology. You can look this up or enjoy digesting Rams reflections on over 40 years of design work in his bilingual book “Weniger, aber besser”, Less, but better. (Also handy for brushing up those rusty school German language skills!)

Maybe you do not think of theology, religious teaching or sermons as being designed or having a function and utility. I would urge you to think again; to reflect that any and every piece of theology or sermonising has been selected, shaped, packaged and put together to fulfil a purpose and have an impact on those for whom it is delivered. These processes, undertaken by personal choice of the communicator or through the purposeful selection of an institution -often unexamined or unacknowledged - are present in preparation of any creative “package” or system of thought. 

These processes are an analogue to the disciplines that go toward designing a chair, a desk lamp, a food mixer or mobile phone. These parallels are teased out in what follows - a well meant provocation, tongue in cheek - for better sermons and theology that in our information heavy times better meet the needs of those in receipt of them.

A design philosophy that has shaped much of our modern domestic environment

The German design school that evolved after the turmoil of the Nazi era rekindled an approach to design principles that has shaped much of our modern aesthetic. This movement for simple, good design growing out of a humane approach to art and craft first expressed in the Bauhaus and related movements had been suppressed during times of brutality and destruction. The spirit of the creative epoch of those earlier hopeful times was revived post-war by a new generation determined to build a better world. At the heart of this movement was a group of young architects and designers that included Dieter Rams. Rams became an exemplar of this movement of hope. He has distilled the portfolio of a lifetime’s iconic design work into the simple approach of “less but better”.  By example, the innovative and functional styles of “Braun”, where Rams worked for 40 years still influences many of the gadgets and tools we use every day e.g the design of “Apple” computer and phone products.

This movement of designers saw themselves as heirs of the “Bauhaus” family of design that took root during the Weimar Republic of the 1920s and early 30s. Their new wave of clean lines, ergonomic consideration and eye-catching design was a reaction to the nostalgic styling of many new household items in the pre and immediate post WW2 years. During this time new household items were often clothed in backward looking faux or aspirational ostentation. In this time of rebuilding after turbulent years of tyranny and war a new post-war honesty and utility was sought. This International movement gained expression in internal and external architecture - in the UK by example, the new Coventry Cathedral and in design of everyday products, such as Terence Conran’s “Habitat” range. The IKEA philosophy is also a modern heir to this spirit of simple, classless, practical yet desirable design  

The intuitive nature of this style of design means that we can usually just get something “out of the box” and use it straight away, without reference to technical manuals or instruction. It is an approach, also taken up by many software “app” designers, that makes objects and tools as much a natural extension and expression of the self as a well chosen stick or stone to our early ancestors.  

Dieter Rams worked as design engineer for Braun, establishing and leading a ground breaking school of design for 40 years until his retirement in the 1990s He has also had a long collaborative relationship with the interior design and furniture company Vitsoe who have produced products of iconic style and functional design since the 1960s.

Guiding this design revolution that has shaped much of our lived in environment are a set of simple principles. Dieter Rams as an exemplar of this movement summed up the underpinning principles for good design in a short 10 point process/check list/gauge, namely:

1. Good design is innovative: in respect to clear improvements in the product’s function
2. Good design makes a product useful: by optimising the utility of the product
3. Good design is aesthetic: it makes the product fascinating
4. Good design makes a product understandable: ideally self explanatory in itself
5. Good design is unobtrusive: that products keep to the background and make space for the user
6. Good design is honest: it does not make the product more than it is.
7. Good design is durable: there is n nothing “trendy” about it that will be out of date tomorrow
8. Good design is thorough down to the last detail: respecting the product and its users
9. Good design is environmentally-friendly: contributing to protecting and sustaining the environment
10. Good design is as little design as possible: back to purity and simplicity.

So, what have these ideas got to do with theology… well the next post will start to unpack some thoughts that one colleague with a mission to preach and write inspiring devotional material kindly described as ‘the most helpful thing I have come across since theological college”. 

A Bishop’s “Bauhaus” challenge!

 Back in one of the Covid lockdowns here in the UK I was watching a TV programme about the great German designer Dieter Rams - look him up - and his 10 principles of good design. As an engineer turned theologian I had a “lightbulb” moment; Rams ideas had set the pattern for the design of so many things we use today, including inspiring the approach that gave rise to the iPad I am writing this on! Anything can be designed well if the designer/s follow the principles as a means of guiding their approach.

What about theology? Can we “design” intuitive, attractive, helpful theology that improves peoples’ lives? It was worth a thought experiment and a bit of fun! Having sketched out my “manifesto” of well designed theology I shared it with some colleagues and my local church bishops. I got a response and friendly challenge about “Your Bauhaus theology… which I don’t like one bit” (delivered with a wink type grin).

Bauhaus. That iconic movement that flowered in post First World War Germany and again in the successor post World War Two wave of design (which included Dieter Rams and others of his generation). Their mission, to create a built environment and domestic/artistic space that was truly humane and valuable to all people. Almost everything we use in our homes and any of those homes owe a debt to the “Bauhaus” movement. To me this was a “bingo”moment. A chance to work up my cheeky little paper into something a bit more substantial, any maybe convince some folk, including the odd bishop here and there that good theology can be designed and that to have a good process beside the theologians knowledge can help in developing theological responses to the very human needs and challenges of our day. from “social media” to “Covid19”, not to mention the ecological crisis, I believe there is merit in running this new approach around the block a few times. So here goes….