Bauhaus Museum Dessau

The Bauhaus Museum Dessau opened its doors in September 2019 – just in time for the hundredth anniversary of the Bauhaus. Its architecture reflects the basic principles of the Bauhaus style while simultaneously representing a unique evolution for the 21st century. The structure, situated in the centre of the town, provides space for a wide-ranging exhibition that tells the story of the famous Bauhaus school. The Bauhaus was the first institution to encourage the blending of art and craftsmanship and is regarded as the twentieth century’s most influential teaching establishment in the field of architecture, art and design. The new museum offers the public an insight into the collection of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, which comprises a total of around 49,000 exhibits – the world’s second largest collection of all things Bauhaus.

The design for the new museum building is the creation of addenda architects. The young architects’ firm from Barcelona triumphed in a global, 830-strong field in an open competition. The result is as unpretentious as it is surprising: standing at twelve meters high, the building consists of an impressive glass facade which, depending on the lighting conditions, provides reflections of different intensities or a through view. The glass shell houses a further building, whose upper storey comprises a closed cube made from reinforced concrete. The architects took their inspiration for the construction from bridge building, with the cube simply resting on two staircase cores 50 meters apart. The staircase leads visitors to the exhibition within, which extends over 1,500 square meters. The room, shielded from daylight and air-conditioned, provides perfect conditions for preserving the exhibits. The light-suffused area in the lower storey is home to a café and shop, an open stage and temporary exhibitions, among other things.

In keeping with the Bauhaus style, the minimalist design language extends to the sanitary facilities: the Darling New wall-mounted toilet from Duravit has a smooth, closed outer form and a comfortable rim. Inside, the toilet interior features a modern, open flushing rim that enables perfect water flow. This produces a dynamic, powerful flush for optimal cleansing of the inside of the bowl, ensuring perfect hygienic flushing results, even with smaller volumes of water.