The Bauhaus Archive stands as one of Berlin's most architecturally and historically significant locations, currently undergoing extensive renovations that have transformed it into what many consider the city's most exciting construction site. While the original building receives monument-appropriate restoration, the Museum of Design will eventually move to a brand-new structure. Despite ongoing construction work, the site is celebrating with the "Come to the Construction Site!" festival, featuring guided tours, workshops, art exhibitions, and musical performances from September 19-21.
The Bauhaus Archive building, originally designed by Walter Gropius and extensively adapted for its location along Berlin's Landwehr Canal by his colleague Alexander Cvijanović, represents far more than just architectural significance. The structure is renowned not only for its distinctive shed roofs that trace back to the master architect, but also for housing the world's most comprehensive collection related to the Bauhaus movement. However, since 2018, major construction work has been underway, combining monument-appropriate renovation with the creation of a new building that will house the museum, while the library and archive will remain in the original structure.
Visitors who have strolled along the Landwehr Canal in recent years have already glimpsed Volker Staab's glass tower with its many facade struts from the outside. As often happens with major projects, the original timeline couldn't be maintained, but now the public can finally get their first insider look. The "Come to the Construction Site!" festival allows visitors to enter the Bauhaus Archive again from September 19-21, 2025. The program addresses both the Bauhaus movement itself and this specific location, featuring guided tours led by Staab Architects, a photography exhibition documenting construction progress, and guided construction site visits.
The festival opens future spaces for the shop and café as pop-up locations, while discussion panels explore topics including museums as political spaces and how the Bauhaus legacy can be communicated today. Panel guests include Volker Staab and Annemarie Jaeggi, the director of the Bauhaus Archive/Museum of Design, who will step down in 2026 after 23 years to be succeeded by art historian Brigitte Franzen.
Beyond architecture, the festival celebrates Bauhaus aesthetics through surprising aspects and connections. The Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra performs specially commissioned concerts in the foyer, with sounds composed specifically for these spaces (though these performances are already sold out). A symposium explores the relationship between Bauhaus and opera, and those wanting more than theoretical experience can make a trip to the Philharmonie for the festival's conclusion.
On Sunday, visitors can attend a moderated chamber concert at 4 PM titled "From Bauhaus to Broadway," featuring works by Kurt Weill, Paul Hindemith, George Antheil, Marc Blitzstein, and Leonard Bernstein. This will be followed by a world premiere performance under the direction of Karl-Heinz Steffens, as the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra performs Marc Blitzstein's "Parabola and Circula" for the first time. This work, possibly the world's only cubist opera, was originally scheduled to premiere in 1929 in cooperation with Bauhaus Dessau, but the performance never materialized. The work was forgotten until it was rediscovered through a research project.
Entry to all events, including the closing concerts, is free. However, visitors should book time-slot tickets and may need to rely on spontaneous availability, especially considering that Sunday's Berlin Marathon could cause significant disruptions throughout the city. The festival takes place at the Bauhaus Archive/Museum of Design on Klingelhöferstraße 14 in Tiergarten, with program details and time-slot tickets available online.
