Treibgut German: “flotsam, jetsam”

After having drifted around the world, fragments of the Bauhaus have spilled ashore in the city of their origin and gathered in the river bend of the vanished Asbach creek.

The competition design for the New Bauhaus Museum inhabits a residual space between distinct urban structures of Weimar: A classicist park in the south; imperial Wilhelminian residences in the north; the former Nazi administrative “Gauforum” in the east; and the medieval old town in the south. Each of the neighboring structures represents a different idea of society, all of which collide on the museum site. As such they embody the outer forces that all have played a part in the turbulent history of the Bauhaus.

The proposed museum establishes a conceptual distance to all its neighbors. It does not attempt to become part of this ensemble; it plays by its own rules. The organization in distinct pavilions emphasizes the different phases and tendencies of the history of the institution. Each cube houses one chapter of the exhibition. Based on the unifying geometry of the square, the subdivisions of each individual cube are inspired by graphic principles of the legendary Bauhaus preliminary course.

The exterior of the museum consists of colored glass panels. In light-sensitive exhibition spaces, the panels are opaque; in areas that suggest open views and day-lighting, they become transparent. On the roof, photovoltaic panels continue the logic of the façade system - in the spirit of the unity of art and technology.

Type: Unbuilt
Place: Weimar
Year: 2010
Collaboration: Daniel Schütz, Georg Windeck
Team: Jinjoo Yang, Will Shapiro