Original use
Original use: Culture/leisure/tourism/museum-archive
Current use
Original use: Culture/leisure/tourism/museum-archive
Architects
Walter Gropius, Alex Cvijanovic, Hans Bandel
Concrete by reinforcement
Concrete is a relatively brittle material that is strong in compression but less so in tension.
To increase its overall strength, steel rods, wires, mesh or cables may be embedded in concrete before it sets. This reinforcement, often known as rebar, resists tensile forces. By forming a strong bond, the two materials are able to resist a variety of applied forces, effectively acting as a single structural element .
Construction method
In this case, the concrete can be made by mixing the components directly on site, or it may be transported from a production plant in concrete-mixer trucks.
This method has the disadvantage of leaving the concrete exposed to the elements while it is setting. Whereas, with other methods, the environmental conditions can be controlled during setting, providing greater control over the outcome, with cast-in-place concrete a series of tests and protocols are necessary to verify its final strength.
PRECAST ON SITE:
In larger and more complex construction projects, a concrete production plant may be installed on the construction site or nearby. The precast elements are moved into place once they have reached their maximum strength. This reduces transportation costs and ensures the concrete will set in the same environmental conditions as the building site. This may be more necessary with structures that combine cast-in-place concrete with prefabricated elements.
PRECAST IN FACTORY, WORKSHOP:
Any concrete element can be manufactured ahead of time and transported to the site once it has set. In this case, the control over geometry, appearance, finish and strength can be as strict as necessary. It can also be ensured that the pieces will be exactly identical to one another.
Prefabricated elements can be of any type: from façade panels and pavements to decorative elements (such as cornices or capitals) and structural elements (columns, slabs, beams, etc.).
These elements may be part of a commercial catalog or specially designed for a specific project. A series of pieces may also be sold as a coordinated and interconnected system to build a complete structure or even an entire building.
Architectural concrete
Structural types
Beams are the horizontal load-bearing elements of the frame. Columns are the vertical elements of the frame and act as the building’s primary load-bearing element. They transmit the beam loads down to the foundations.
State of Conservation
Description
The design of a building to house the archives of the Bauhaus was a late work by the man who was its first director, Walter Gropius. The building was planned for a site in Darmstadt; later it was changed to its Berlin location, in the Tiergarten, which Gropius himself chose from among several options. A team of architects adapted the project to its new location, facing numerous problems and setbacks. Ultimately, essential elements of the original design survived: specifically, the iconic curved skylights, a reinterpretation of the serrations characteristic of industrial architecture. The organizational principles of Gropius’ floor plan were also maintained and, in spite of the shift from a sloping plot to a totally flat one, the “H” shape and the accesses via long exterior concrete ramps remained.
The Bauhaus is considered one of the 20th century’s most influential schools of architecture, art and design. Its core principles included introducing quality design to consumer products and putting craftsmanship and industry on a level with the fine arts, in addition to promoting an honest and direct use of materials, without artifice. In keeping with these principles, the only materials used in the building intended to preserve its legacy were exposed concrete and glass.
To celebrate the centennial of the Bauhaus, in 2019, a new annex is being built to increase the exhibition area, currently just 700 m2.
Germany
Klingelhöferstraße 14
Berlin (State) 10785 Berlin
Commission
1964
Completion
1979