debauhaus1-8, Exercise 3: DIN standards and the 1914 argument

Model answer:

DIN refers to the German standards organisation set up in 1917 (originally an industry committee) and to the standards it publishes, which cover things such as sizes of paper, screws and fittings (check the dates). The best-known is the paper-size standard, the basis of the A4 sheet, dating from the early 1920s (check the date and the standard's number). A standard makes parts interchangeable and mass production cheaper, which is why it appealed to designers and builders who wanted well-made goods at low cost.

The link to 1914: at the Werkbund's Cologne exhibition, Hermann Muthesius argued for standard types suited to industry, while Henry van de Velde defended the artist's freedom to create individual forms (Chapter 2). DIN and the standardised housing of the 1920s put Muthesius's side of that argument into practice on a national scale. The Bauhaus shared the interest in standardisation, especially under Gropius (for example in prefabricated building parts at Törten), and used DIN sizes, but it did not create the standards (check).