The settlement Törten is the most important and, apart from the destroyed Haus Nolden, the only construction contract that the Bauhaus received directly during its existence. From 1928 onwards, the teachers and students of the Bauhaus’s “construction department” worked collectively on the designs for the “settlement Törten” as part of their architectural training. The urban development concept envisaged a modern mixed-use development. In 1930, under the direction of Hannes Meyer and with the participation of the students, five three-story houses with Balcony Access were built. The construction of the more than 500 planned single-family houses in low-rise buildings did not take place.
Today, the arcade houses are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They were built for low-income families and, like the entire plan, reflect the Bauhaus’s socially oriented design ideas with regard to urban planning, architecture, furnishings, and furniture.
You can learn more about the Houses with Balcony Access and the history of the Bauhaus settlement in the audio walk. Starting point: Konsum building, Am Dreieck 1, 06849 Dessau-Roßlau – total duration approx. 60-90 minutes.
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The audio walk was created in a seminar at the University of Kassel, Department of Architectural Theory and Design. Led by: Dr. Jens-Uwe Fischer, students: Jonas Baumann, Henry Bültmann, Yunjie Chung, Jay Döveling, Laura Festor, Sebastian Görs, Markus Grote, Benjamin Hennig Omicevic, Anika Kirchner, Dominik Neas, Annika Seitz, Adelina Stapel, Tudor Tarnowietzki, Merlin Woditschka, and Xinyao Yang.
Special thanks to: Dessau Housing Cooperative, Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, and Freies Radio Kassel.