Following the announcement of the “Kunst am Bau” competition in spring 2023, twelve artists submitted concepts that highlight the Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung as a site of creative learning, interdisciplinary exchange and critical dialogue.

The Bauhaus-Archiv was founded in 1960 as a non-profit association by a group of committed citizens. Designed by Walter Gropius, the museum opened in 1979 on Landwehrkanal in the Berlin-Tiergarten district, and today, the building is listed as a historic landmark. Since 2018, the Bauhaus-Archiv has been closed for renovation and expansion in accordance with landmark preservation guidelines. A key aspect of the construction efforts – and an integral element of building culture in Germany – is “Kunst am Bau” – a state and federal programme devoted to financing the creation of artworks as a part of publicly funded construction projects in Germany. To this end, the state of Berlin, represented by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion, in coordination with the Senate Department for Urban Development, Building and Housing, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, and the Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung, launched a non-public, single-stage art competition, preceded by a European-wide public application process.

On 26 September 2023 the “Kunst am Bau” competition for the Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung concluded with deliberations by the jury, chaired by the artist Andreas Schmid. Over several hours, all twelve submissions were intensively discussed. In a close decision, the proposal “Hausbau. Eine Spurensuche” by Martin Binder was selected as the winner. The jury subsequently recommended the implementation of the proposal. The other eleven concepts were submitted by the artists Rosa Barba, José Délano, Claudia von Funcke, Katrin Glanz, Christin Kaiser, Marion Orfila, Charlotte Perrin, Karin Sander, Barbara Trautmann, Stefanie Unruh and Sunette Viljoen.

The work by Martin Binder highlights the origin and industrial processing of the three predominant materials used in building the museum annex: wood, glass and concrete. Binder traces these construction materials back to their respective sources – a limestone quarry, a quartz sandpit, a spruce forest – and documents with photos and film their industrial processing. Large-scale photos of the quartz sandpit and limestone quarry will be displayed in the foyer, while the photograph of the spruce tree will span the entire four storeys of the tower. Visitors will be able to cinematically follow the journey these materials have taken – from their origin to their industrial finishing – via NFC (near-field communication) in proximity to the large-scale photos.

A conversation with the artist
Read more about the concept "Hausbau. Eine Spurensuche" by Martin Binder in our online magazine bauhaus stories.

An exhibition running from 25 October to 28 November 2023 showcased the winning design which received the recommendation for funding by the jury, along with the other eleven concepts submitted for consideration in the art competition. The presentation revealed how very differently artists view and react to the architecture and usage of the Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung.