You only see what you know (Goethe)
I saw the visit to the Törten Housing Estate with great expectations. The previously visited Bauhaus Building and the Master’s Houses were examples of an upscale architectural style. But what style did the Bauhaus movement use for simple family homes? In the streets of Törten, I found the answer. [German]
Walter Gropius planned this building in the years 1928/29. Its former function as an employment office can still be read by a fading inscription (“Amt für Arbeit”). The building is an impressive example of how to align architecture to a process – in this case looking after job seekers. [German]
After Walter Gropius founded the Staatliche Bauhaus in Weimar, there was little time left to mould his new ideas into a building. Just after his move to Dessau, he appears as an architect on a site of the Bauhaus School. Here, the four masters houses form an ensemble. [German]
In 2019, the city of Weimar commemorates two anniversaries. On August 11, 1919, the Weimar Constitution was passed here. In the same year, the Bauhaus movement was created on the initiative of the architect Walter Gropius. An interesting intersection of both events forms this plaque, which commemorates the 11th of August, 1919: It was designed by Walter Gropius. [German]
The day was already dawning when I reached the Konsum building. It was built in 1928 to plans by Walter Gropius. Its unusual height and function as a department store made it a focal point of the Törten Housing Estate. The attached low-rise building with the shop floor is not visible in this photo. [German]
The Fagus factory is a very special world heritage site because the factory is still in operation. The buildings house a production for shoe lasts as well as a museum about the history of the company and shoes in general. The architecture is considered as an example of early modern architecture and was designed by Walter Gropius and Adolf Mayer.