Marking the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus movement, the German design school built on the famous "form follows function" ethos, a new museum will open this weekend in Weimar, Germany, celebrating its famous works and impact.
The €27m (US$30.3m, £23.3m) Bauhaus Museum, designed by German architect Heike Hanada, is true to form in its minimalist appearance – one solid concrete cubic structure with very few frills on the city's outskirts.
It will host an inauguration weekend on 6 and 7 April, with free entry and an array of concerts and events commemorating the 100th birthday of the Bauhaus movement.
"When they told me where they wanted the museum I thought they were crazy – in fact, I got quite angry," said Hanada.
"But then I began to see its potential. The goal was to give this place a new identity."
Museum director Ulrike Bestgen, meanwhile, spoke of the movement’s impact itself, adding: "Bauhaus has influenced design all over the world.
"Bauhaus pioneers dealt with urgent issues of their times, like housing shortages which are still relevant today."
Bauhaus was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar in 1919 and had Russian abstract painter Wassily Kandinsky and Swiss-born surrealist Paul Klee among others in its ranks.
Inside, the museum expects to bring in 100,000 visitors a year, with work from icons such as Marcel Breuer, Marianne Brandt and Peter Keler on display.
