Linked to an essentially ‘urban’ outlook on society, culture and economy, what are the implications of transplanting the Bauhaus’ urban mode of thinking to the countryside? And, as city-dwellers take part in processes of urban-rural migration – bringing their values and expectations with them – how might its manifesto and principles be used in the imaginative redesign of evolving rural economies and cultures?

The session will invite participants to think through these questions in relation to design interventions such as the De La Warr Pavilion, Dartington Hall, and Impington Village College in the UK, and a host of other examples globally, with a range of experts from the field. As envisaged by the 9th Earl de la Warr in 1935, we seek to understand how ‘thinking through design’ might lead to ‘the growth, prosperity, and the greater culture’ of local towns and villages in the 21st century.