Here’s a PDF of my Bauhaus Foundation course handout from 2017; it’s been sitting here on my computer for months now and it seems high time to share it. This is all based on my research into the preliminary course / foundation course work of Josef Albers, and the folding exercises he taught his students at both the Bauhaus and the Black Mountain College in Asheville, NC.
It’s a few simple models, including the Hypar (as shown above), a herringbone corrugation pattern, a basic Floderer-esque crumpling piece, and a pleated wave (from Goran Konjevod). We touched on more work during our course but these needed the most instruction, so they were diagrammed.
All that being said, I vastly prefer to walk students through folding, crumpling, and cutting things by hand without instructional sheets – I don’t want them to just follow a handout and duplicate what they see. I want them to experience the process and think about it so they may find new ways of doing it in their own style. They are learning exercises, after all!
There’s two versions to download: one is in A5 booklet format, the other the same content but as separate pages. I’d recommend the booklet PDF for printing, and the other for digital viewing.
Bauhaus Foundation Course instructions (A5 booklet) PDF
Bauhaus Foundation Course instructions (individual pages) PDF
Thank you for the PDFs.
Do you have planned or know of another Bauhaus folding workshop in the US?
Hello Susan! I’m pretty sure that I will be doing another summer school course this July at the Bauhaus Denkmal Bundesschule Bernau, to be confirmed in the next month or so. I would love to teach a course here in the US, mind you, given that I live here 🙂 I have a few things in the works, so if I’m able to set up a program here I will be sure to post about it!
bauhaus folding must be done in germany 😉
Bauhaus folding IS best done in a Bauhaus building, yes. it’s a great year to be folding bauhaus!
Thank you for sharing Bauhaus folding course instructions. I have many books and many beautiful Japanese Origami papers. I love folding and find peace and discovery in each fold. The best realization is sharing my finished pieces with complete strangers and young children. The response of giving warms their heart, bringing instant smiles to their faces. Amazing how it bring people together. Thank you again.
Thanks for sharing. All the best.
Thank you so much for your generous share
Hi, I would like to ask what computer program did you use to create a picture of Hypar? I mean the one on the top of the article?
Thank you very much.