Tag: bauhaus

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in germany traveling

the bauhaus workshop

weimar is also the birthplace of bauhaus, a new kind of art school started in 1919 by walter groupius. it was characterised by the absence of ornamentation and the harmony between design and function – as gropius said, “we want an architecture adapted to our world of machines, radios and fast cars”.

and so, a visit to weimar wouldn’t be complete without a tour of the bauhaus museum. we joined a guided tour of the museum which was nice enough, but we had something else waiting for us… a bauhaus workshop!

after the museum, our guide showed us into a room on the historical university, where a lot of materials were waiting for us. the task: to make bauhaus-inspired lanterns!

paulo was really into his yellow pyramid! :)

everybody tried their best and with some help from the guide, we all managed to make some pretty (and working!) lanterns. here are the finished art pieces:

don’t they all look nice? everyone wanted to show their artistic talent! while we waited for night to fall to light our lanterns, we were served the evening bread, bauhaus style! the bread and salad were especially yummy… not to mention the hot chocolate!

there were still some minutes left to tour the university’s buildings…

… including walter gropius office!

and then, night felt and it was time to light our candles and cross the pitch black deserted park, with our lanterns in tow…

it was simultaneously eerie and yet so magical… like being transported almost 100 years back in time, to one of those nights when the bauhaus students did this same stroll with their own lanterns. i could almost feel the happiness and excitement sizzle under my skin! :)

i’m so glad we got to experience it, thanks to our friend (& weimar connoisseuse-extraordinaire) helena! if you ever visit the city, do not miss it! :)

Categories
in germany

the modernist housing estates of berlin

the museum island is berlin’s most famous unesco site, its central location and abundance of interesting museums ensuring its place in all guidebooks. but did you know that berlin has another, less well-known unesco attraction?

spread over 6 locations around the city, the modernist housing estates are a group of buildings built between 1910 and 1933, (especially during the weimar republic) which represent the building reform movement in berlin. here’s how unesco describes them:

The housing estates reflect, with the highest degree of quality, the combination of urbanism, architecture, garden design and aesthetic research typical of early 20th century modernism, as well as the application of new hygienic and social standards.

the estates were built at the end of the first world war (when demand for housing in berlin was higher than ever), by cooperatives and non-profit organizations in the (once) outer, rural areas of the city. they were innovative in their design but especially for the open-housing concept of “garden towns and cities” – in contrast with the 19th century corridor-like streets. the main architects involved were bruno taut, martin wagner, and walter gropius (one of the founders of the bauhaus school).

the pictures on this post are from the estate closest to our house, the Hufeisensiedlung. Hufeisen means “horseshoe” – which is what it resembles when you look at it from above!