Let the Excursion Begin

We began the day getting up bright and early, packing our things and boarding the bus to Dessau to see the legendary Bauhaus School of Design, which is widely considered the first contemporary school of design.

The Bauhaus School (above) was started by Walter Gropius in 1919 in Weimar before moving to the location above in 1925. The school was very unique in its approach to educating designers as it stressed minimalism, manufacturing, and craft rather that classicism and extravagances. Its goal was not to educate "starchitects," however, but competent designers and craftspeople that were able to interact with one another. Though the school only lasted 13 years, its ideas spread around the world and are still felt today.

Now that we visited something old, it was time to balance our day by visiting something new. The BMW Plant (above) was designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Zaha Hadid. The building design is originated is drawing connections between programmatic elements. Throughout the central building one can see various aspects of the program at once as there are conveyer belts carrying car bodies over office cubicles and dining spaces. The buildings overall presence seemed a little static which may be due to the architecture or the fact that Germany was playing in the World Cup during our tour. Either way, the true fascination of the tour came from the assembly line which we weren't able to photograph. So instead, I just provided you with a video showing the main entrance of the Plant as well as some classmates and professors who unknowingly knew I was catching them on surveillance.