bauhaus museum dessau by gonzález hinz zabala

construction work has begun in germany on the new bauhaus museum dessau. gonzález hinz zabala’s design of the building was chosen from an international architecture competition that attracted more than 800 entries. the winning scheme renders the museum as a ‘glass shell’, which accommodates the collection on the upper storey with a more flexible open-plan layout at ground level. once complete in 2019, the museum will publicly display the second-largest bauhaus collection in the world.

ground floor exhibition areas reach out into the surrounding park

the bauhaus dessau foundation — led by director claudia perren — selected barcelona-based gonzález hinz zabala after originally announcing two winning firms for the competition — the other being new york studio young & ayata. the two projects were then reevaluated, with gonzález hinz zabala’s design meeting more of the jury’s requirements.

a flexible, open-plan layout is found at the building’s lower level

‘the two first prize-winners could not have been more different in their architectural concept for the museum,’ says perren. ‘it became clearly apparent during the negotiating phase that the design by the spanish firm can be implemented within the construction budget of 25 million euros without impairing architectural quality and functionality.’

the ground floor provides a variety of different exhibition galleries

the winning design comprises two distinct components: an elevated ‘black box’, and an ‘open stage’ at ground level. based around the themes of collection, custody, and care, the upper storey has been conceived as a hermetic spatial structure within the glass envelope, reserved for presenting the collection. its lower level counterpart is a transparent ground floor that provides a variety of exhibition areas that reach out into the surrounding park.

the upper storey has been conceived as a hermetic spatial structure

‘the museum will become a new point of attraction in the city center,’ comments mayor of dessau-roßlau peter kuras. ‘I like it very much because its openness will invite people and bring much liveliness to the urban center. I know that many inhabitants wished for the more colorful design by the new york-based architects. its cost planning, however, would exceed the defined budget which we are set to keep at any rate. now the municipality will support the foundation with complete focus in the construction so that we will be able to inaugurate the new museum in 2019.’

the museum will publicly display the second-largest bauhaus collection in the world