Maurer Residence, Berlin-Dahlem, 1933: Built-in cabinet: elevation as seen from childrens' playroom, 1:10 1933

Curator: This architectural drawing by Hanns Dustmann, dating to 1933, depicts a built-in cabinet for the Maurer Residence in Berlin-Dahlem. The elevation shows the cabinet as it would appear from the children's playroom. Editor: It's austere, isn’t it? The lines are so clean, so functional. I wonder what materials were intended. You can see the level of precision and craftsmanship implied even in this blueprint. Curator: It reflects a shift, certainly, towards efficient design but also the social conditions within which it was intended. How design serves the everyday in a changing society. Editor: Exactly. These architectural renderings underscore the value of craftsmanship in a period of industrial growth. One can almost imagine the cabinet being produced, the selection of wood, the process of assembly. Curator: And the social context within the rise of Bauhaus, and the need to re-evaluate both the practice and the function of what we understand as art. Editor: It’s fascinating how a simple cabinet drawing can speak volumes about labor, materials, and societal shifts. Curator: Yes, a seemingly simple design, yet profound in what it represents about the era.