04/04-Bauhaus, Dessau

Cannot imagine what the design world would become if Walter Gropius didn't found Bauhaus 90 years ago in Weimar.

For only 7 years between 1925 to 1932 that Bauhaus was operated in Dessau, and in fact, the school of Bauhaus had only existed for less than 14 years in total, before the Nazis finally forced Mies van de Rohe to close down its last campus in Berlin.

We spent half a day in Bauhaus' Dessau campus, an iconic building designed by Gropius back in the 1920s. Today half museum and half design institute, the modern school building is occupied by visitors and students. Although in German, we took a tour which allowed us to see rooms behind doors, such as the theatre and Gropius' office. Bold colours, experimental detailing and innovative fixtures, making this school building a manifesto on avant garde design of early 20th century. We also visited the masters' houses nearby. Again designed by Gropius, those houses served as accommodation facilities for professors such as Kandinsky and Paul Klee.