Glass, Concrete, Metal: what the Bauhaus Building is made of (Dessau)

Walter Gropius called iron, concrete and glass the new industrial materials that would supersede the old natural ones. The building he designed for the Bauhaus in Dessau was the argument made physical, and a hundred years on the Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau has turned that argument into an exhibition inside the building itself.

Glass | Concrete | Metal occupies the historical Workshop Wing, which opened on 4 December 1926 and startled more than a thousand visitors — as much for its windmill-like ground plan as for the materials it was built from. The three-part display uses historical photographs, tools, documents and equipment to look at what lies behind the smooth surfaces of steel tube and glass façades: manufacturing processes, production sites, working conditions and the sourcing of raw materials. It follows the trading routes and resource flows tied to colonial and imperial economic relations, and connects the material innovations of the early 1920s to present-day arguments about sustainability and resource justice.

Practical details

• When: 28 March 2026 – 10 January 2027
• Where: Bauhaus Building, Gropiusallee 38, 06846 Dessau-Roßlau, Germany
• Hours: Monday–Sunday 10:00–17:00 (March–October); Tuesday–Sunday 10:00–17:00 (November–February)
• Price: Bauhaus Building ticket €14.00, reduced €8.00; a combined ticket for the Dessau Bauhaus sites is €29.00, reduced €19.00, valid on three consecutive days
• Organiser: Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau

Full details and tickets are on the foundation’s own site. Cultural Heritage Online lists this exhibition for readers planning a trip to Dessau; admission is handled directly by the foundation.