Image Credit : Staab Architekten
Project Overview
To coincide with the Bauhaus anniversary, the Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung in Berlin is to be given the spatial facilities it needs to meet the requirements of running a museum and archive in the 21st century.
Project Commissioner
Senate Administration for Urban Development and the Environment
Project Creator
Project Brief
The Bauhaus-Archiv/Museum für Gestaltung holds the world’s most extensive collection of materials on the history of the Bauhaus. The building, opened in 1979, has now become too small and is no longer able to do justice to the increased demands on a museum that also serves as an archive.
The existing building, designed by Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius, is to be renovated in accordance with historic monument requirements and will be extended with the addition of a new building.
Project Innovation/Need
The design incorporates a slender glass tower on the new entrance plateau next to the start of the original architectural promenade at the Bauhaus-Archiv. Leaving the view of the historic building untouched, the highly visible landmark contains most of the museum’s public space. It is characterised by an experimental bearing structure, which symbolises the open, interactive approach of the Bauhaus institution today.
The entrance tower and a lower building, comprised of a café and museum shop, offer the museum visitors a lively urban space. Barely visible from the street, the exhibition spaces are embedded in the existing terrain.
The plan was to distinguish the materiality of the addition from that of the listed Bauhaus-Archiv, whereas key spaces such as the entrance plateau and foyer should tie both buildings together to create a modern exhibition and conference space.
The building, opened in 1979, has now become too small and is no longer able to do justice to the increased demands on a museum that also serves as an archive. Visitor numbers have doubled during the last 10 years; in 2014, a total of 115,000 people interested in the Bauhaus visited the building.
Architecture - Cultural
This award celebrates the design process and product of planning, designing and constructing form, space and ambience that reflect functional, technical, social, and aesthetic considerations. Consideration given for material selection, technology, light and shadow.
More Details