Bauhaus Dessau Foundation

The Bauhaus Dessau Foundation is a German nonprofit cultural and research institution established in 1994 by the Federal Government of Germany, the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and the town of Dessau. It is headquartered in the historic Bauhaus Building in Dessau-Roßlau, one of the most important surviving sites associated with the Bauhaus school. Rather than functioning as a commercial brand, the foundation operates as a public-facing institution devoted to the preservation, study, transmission, and contemporary development of Bauhaus ideas. Its work combines heritage conservation with experimental research. The foundation’s mission is not limited to maintaining historic buildings or presenting the Bauhaus as a closed chapter in design history. It investigates how architecture, urban planning, design, performance, and cultural practice can respond to present-day problems in the built environment and in society. Its staff and collaborators include architects, urban planners, sociologists, cultural scholars, artists, and art historians, allowing the institution to approach modernism from multiple disciplinary perspectives. The foundation’s activities are organized around three principal areas: Collection, Workshop, and Academy. The Collection and archive preserve a substantial body of Bauhaus-related material, described in the reference material as approximately 26,000 objects, making Dessau one of the world’s major centers for Bauhaus documentation. A selection is presented in a permanent exhibition in the basement of the Bauhaus Building, while the wider holdings support research, scholarship, exhibitions, and educational work. The Academy provides international and interdisciplinary teaching. Since 1999, the International Bauhaus College has offered a one-year program in English for architects, urban designers, and urban researchers from different countries. The Workshop links research and teaching to practical projects, using design experimentation to explore contemporary urban and architectural questions. The foundation also operates as a cultural venue. Its program includes temporary and permanent exhibitions, guided tours, lectures, festivals, experimental stage productions, concerts, dance, and other events. The restoration and renewed use of the Bauhaus Stage has helped connect the institution with the school’s historical interest in performance and interdisciplinary production. Visitors can also tour the Bauhaus Building and other Dessau sites, including the Masters’ Houses, the Törten Estate, the Kornhaus, and the former employment office designed by Walter Gropius. The foundation’s institutional history follows several decades of changing use of the Bauhaus Building. After the Bauhaus in Dessau closed in 1932, the building did not immediately return to its original educational and cultural role. The government of the German Democratic Republic reconstructed the monument in 1976 and established a scientific and cultural center there. In 1986, the site was reopened as a Center for Design. Following German reunification, the future institutional role of the building was reconsidered, leading to the foundation’s creation in February 1994. The Bauhaus Building and associated Dessau sites now form part of the Bauhaus and Its Sites in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau World Heritage Site. The foundation therefore serves simultaneously as a conservation institution, research center, academy, museum-like exhibition venue, performance space, and international destination. Its audience includes researchers, students, design professionals, tourists, journalists, and members of the public interested in modern architecture and design. The Studio Building, also known as the Prellerhaus, was adapted in 2013 for boutique, dormitory-style accommodation, extending the foundation’s visitor infrastructure while retaining the building’s connection to Bauhaus history.

The institutional history of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation is rooted in the changing fate of the Bauhaus Building after the original Bauhaus school left Dessau. The Bauhaus in Dessau was closed and its members were expelled on September 30, 1932. For several decades afterward, the building did not serve the same educational and cultural purpose for which it had been designed. A major change came in 1976, when the government of the German Democratic Republic reconstructed the historic building on the fiftieth anniversary of its construction. The site was given a new scientific and cultural role, a Bauhaus collection began to be assembled, and the Bauhaus Stage returned to use for concerts and theatrical productions. In 1986, the building was reopened as a Center for Design associated with East Germany’s construction administration. These initiatives preserved the building and reintroduced cultural and design activity, although the institution’s long-term identity remained unsettled. German reunification created a new period of uncertainty concerning the future of the building, its collection, and its relationship to the international legacy of the Bauhaus. On February 9, 1994, the Federal Government of Germany, the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and the town of Dessau established the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation. The new foundation provided a dedicated institutional framework for conservation, research, education, exhibitions, and contemporary experimentation. Rolf Kuhn served as the foundation’s first executive director from 1994 to 1998. He was followed by Omar Akbar, who led the institution until 2009. From March 1, 2009, the foundation was headed by architect and publicist Philipp Oswalt, with Regina Bittner serving as deputy director and taking responsibility for the Academy. The foundation’s organizational model developed around three connected divisions: Collection, Workshop, and Academy. This structure allows historical materials, practical experimentation, and international education to inform one another. The Collection became one of the institution’s central resources. Dessau holds one of the world’s largest Bauhaus-related collections, described as comprising approximately 26,000 objects. Part of this material is displayed in a permanent exhibition in the basement of the Bauhaus Building, while the broader collection supports scholarly research and interpretation of Bauhaus history. The Academy expanded the foundation’s international role. Since 1999, the International Bauhaus College has provided a one-year, English-language interdisciplinary program for architects, urban designers, and urban scientists. Through the Workshop, research and teaching are applied to projects that address contemporary living environments, architecture, urban development, and design. The foundation has also maintained the building as an active cultural venue rather than treating it solely as a monument. Its activities include exhibitions, guided tours, festivals, stage productions, concerts, dance, and other public events. In 2013, the Studio Building, or Prellerhaus, began operating as dormitory-style boutique accommodation with individual studio apartments, linking visitor services to the historic spaces once occupied by Bauhaus figures. The Bauhaus Building, the Masters’ Houses, the Kornhaus, the former employment office, the Törten Estate, and other buildings in Dessau are part of the broader Bauhaus and Its Sites in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau World Heritage Site. The foundation’s present role is consequently both local and international: it safeguards an important architectural and documentary inheritance while using that inheritance to support new research, teaching, artistic production, and public discussion about the design of contemporary life.

• 2013

  Studio Building adapted for accommodation

  [1]Bauhaus Dessau Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The Studio Building, also known as the Prellerhaus, began operating as dormitory-style boutique accommodation in former Bauhaus studio spaces.

• 2009

  Change in leadership

  [1]Bauhaus Dessau Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Philipp Oswalt became director on March 1, while Regina Bittner served as deputy director and led the Academy.

• 1999

  International Bauhaus College begins

  [1]Bauhaus Dessau Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation’s International Bauhaus College began offering a one-year interdisciplinary program in English for international participants in architecture, urban design, and urban research.

• 1994

  Foundation established

  [1]Bauhaus Dessau Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  On February 9, the German federal government, Saxony-Anhalt, and the town of Dessau founded the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation.

• 1986

  Reopening as a Center for Design

  [1]Bauhaus Dessau Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The site reopened as a Center for Design connected with East Germany’s building administration.

• 1976

  Reconstruction of the Bauhaus Building

  [1]Bauhaus Dessau Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The building was reconstructed by the government of the German Democratic Republic, which established a scientific and cultural center and began assembling a Bauhaus collection.

• 1932

  Closure of the Bauhaus in Dessau

  [1]Bauhaus Dessau Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The historical Bauhaus in Dessau closed and its members were expelled on September 30, ending the building’s original institutional use for several decades.

A public cultural, research, educational, and heritage institution that connects preservation of the historic Bauhaus with experimental approaches to contemporary architecture, urbanism, design, and performance.

• Collection and research resource · 1994

  Bauhaus Collection and Archive

  The foundation maintains a major collection of material connected with Bauhaus history in Dessau. The holdings are described as comprising approximately 26,000 objects, placing them among the world’s largest Bauhaus collections. Selected works are shown in a permanent exhibition, while the wider archive supports research, exhibitions, teaching, and historical interpretation.

• Educational program · 1999

  International Bauhaus College

  This one-year interdisciplinary program, offered in English since 1999, brings together architects, urban designers, and urban scientists from different countries. It extends the Bauhaus tradition of collaborative education by combining design inquiry with analysis of contemporary urban and social conditions.

• Research and design program · 1994

  Workshop

  The Workshop connects research, teaching, and practical project development. Its work uses design and architectural experimentation to examine current problems in cities, buildings, public space, and living environments, allowing historical Bauhaus principles to be tested against present-day conditions.

• Performing arts and events

  Bauhaus Stage Program

  The foundation operates a program of experimental stage productions, contemporary music, dance, festivals, and related events in and around the historic Bauhaus Stage. The program reflects the original Bauhaus interest in interdisciplinary performance and keeps the building functioning as a cultural venue.

• Heritage accommodation · 2013

  Studio Building Accommodation

  From 2013, the Studio Building, or Prellerhaus, provided dormitory-style boutique accommodation in personalized studio apartments. The offering gives visitors direct access to a historic Bauhaus building while supporting the site’s role as an international destination for students, researchers, and tourists.

• 2013

  Adaptive reuse of the Studio BuildingStrategy

  Background

  The historic Studio Building, also known as the Prellerhaus, formed part of the Bauhaus site and contained former student and teacher studios.

  Action taken

  The building began operating as dormitory-style boutique accommodation with individually arranged studio apartments.

  Aftermath

  The decision expanded visitor infrastructure and enabled guests to experience a significant Bauhaus building while preserving its connection to the site’s history.

  Source

• 1994

  Creation of a dedicated Bauhaus heritage foundationStrategy

  Background

  After German reunification, the future institutional role of the historic Bauhaus Building and its collections required a new framework.

  Action taken

  The Federal Government of Germany, Saxony-Anhalt, and the town of Dessau established the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation to combine conservation, research, education, and contemporary cultural work.

  Aftermath

  The foundation became the principal institution responsible for linking the Dessau site’s historic Bauhaus legacy with international teaching, collections, exhibitions, design research, and performance.

  Source

1. 1Bauhaus Dessau Foundationen.wikipedia.org