The building's famous glass curtain wall was a revolutionary structural choice that allowed the steel frame to remain visible from the outside.
The Bauhaus school relocated to Dessau from Weimar in 1925 due to political pressure from the local government.
The student dormitory, known as the 'Prellerhaus', features 28 rooms that were once occupied by Bauhaus students and masters.
Walter Gropius designed the building to look completely different from every angle, avoiding a single primary facade.
The school was forcibly closed by the Nazi regime in 1932, leading to the dispersal of its faculty across the globe.
The Bauhaus Dessau Foundation manages the site, which functions as an active laboratory for contemporary design and architecture.
The Masters' Houses, located a short walk away, served as residences for luminaries such as Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee.
Bauhaus Dessau is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a seminal icon of 20th-century modern architecture designed by Walter Gropius. The complex, completed in 1926, features a glass curtain wall, reinforced concrete, and an asymmetrical layout designed to facilitate industrial design workflows. It houses the Bauhaus Building, the Masters' Houses, and the Dessau Bauhaus Museum, which collectively document the school's shift from expressionism to functionalism. The site serves as both a museum and a research institution, preserving original interior designs and furnishings. Visitors can explore the former workshops, the auditorium, and the student dormitory balconies. The architecture reflects the 'form follows function' ethos, emphasizing light, air, and social collaboration. It remains the most influential educational center for modern art, design, and architecture in history.
The iconic exterior 'Bauhaus' lettering on the side of the main building with the glass facade as the backdrop.
Purchase a combined ticket to access both the Bauhaus Building and the nearby Masters' Houses to see the full scope of the campus.
Check the website for rotating temporary exhibitions that often focus on contemporary design interpretations of Bauhaus principles.
Bring comfortable walking shoes, as the site spans several buildings across a significant campus area.
Do not mistake the modern Bauhaus Museum in the city center for the historic Bauhaus Building; visit both for a complete experience.
The site is generally open daily, but individual houses or workshops may occasionally close for maintenance or special event set-ups.
Photography is generally permitted for private use, but tripods and flash are prohibited inside exhibition spaces.
