Simple construction!

The exhibition presents the arcaded apartment buildings constructed by the Bauhaus Dessau in 1930 as a design concept of great relevance today. The designs responded to requirements that are still placed on housing construction today: simple construction, affordable housing, and adequate comfort for all. Realized under the direction of Hannes Meyer with the help of students, they followed the motto “People’s needs rather than luxury needs.” These adaptable rental apartment buildings are characterized by a clear structure. Their understated design allowed for amenities that met high hygienic and technical standards despite low rents. The exhibition situates the buildings within their political, social, and economic contexts and translates a section of the building into the exhibition space.

EINFACH GEBAUT! makes the functionalist organization of the arcaded buildings immediately tangible and invites visitors to discover the inspiration these buildings offer for sustainable housing construction today.

Opening: April 30, 2026, 7:00 p.m.
Introduction: Laura Holzberg, Alexander Poetzsch
Q&A: Jens-Uwe Fischer, Samuel Korn, Jakob Gebert, Johanna Schäfer, Nicky Meißner
Moderator: Alissia Hoffmann

Evening events: May 28 and June 16, 2026, 7:00 p.m.
Guided tours with the curators: May 7, June 4, and 11, 2026, at 6:00 p.m.

Closing venue: June 25, 2026, 7:00 p.m.
Architectural historian and co-curator Dr. Jens-Uwe Fischer will present the Dessau arcaded houses—the only collectively realized architectural project of the historic Bauhaus that has survived to this day.

A project by Jens-Uwe Fischer and Samuel Korn (University of Kassel), Jakob Gebert and Johanna Schäfer (KKunsthochschule), supported by Laura Holzberg and Alissia Hoffmann (DAZ).
The exhibition is based on research findings by Philipp Oswalt, Andreas Buss, and Anne Stengel from the project “The Pergola Houses in Dessau-Törten” at the University of Kassel, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).