A New House for the Bauhaus

Founding of the Bauhaus-Archiv: 1960

Move to premises in the Ernst-Ludwig-Haus on the Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt: 1961

Opening of the museum building for the Bauhaus-Archive in Berlin: 1979

Architects: Walter Gropius und The Architects Collaborative (TAC), Alex Cvijanović, with Hans Bandel

Architect of the museum annex: Volker Staab, Entwurf 2015

Effective area: 1.900 m² (old building), 4.200 m² (new museum building)

Exhibition space: 700 m² (old building), 2.000 m² (new museum building)

In future, room for approx. 600 visitors to comfortably view the presentation of the collection.

There are almost 60 teams of contractors involved in building the new museum annex and renovating the existing building – from the site fence to the steel-and-wood structure for the glass tower to the finish of the parquet floors.

Up to 130 construction workers are involved at the site simultaneously during the busiest phases.

Between 25 and 35 planners, including architects, civil engineers and specialist engineers, are involved in the construction process depending on the project phase.

The proximity to the Landwehrkanal, the inner-city location and the public water lines beneath the property were among the most daunting technical challenges. This required various “detours” for the underground work.

The excavation pit had to be dug almost seven metres deep.

(Reinforced) concrete is the most frequently used material at the site and provides the necessary stability for the museum’s basement level and the building for café/shop. The tower consists of a lightweight steel-and-wood structure.

The most complex technical process was used for the underground work. Using a diaphragm wall grab, reinforced concrete diaphragm walls were installed to prevent groundwater from seeping into the future exhibition space.

In the competition procedure announced in the EU Official Journal on 16 May 2015, 35 participants were selected from a total of 174 applications in a preliminary application procedure (participation competition in accordance with the RPW – Guidelines for Planning Competitions and VOF– Public Procurement Regulations for Professional Services).

In advance, 15 architectural firms had already been selected by the organiser of the competition and had been seeded as participants. Of the 50 architectural firms that were invited to take part, 41 submitted a project. The jury awarded a first prize as well as second, third, fourth and fifth prizes. There were also four commendations.