The Berlin office began its two-day autumn trip on Friday 13th October and given the season, it was no surprise that the weather was a bit overcast. On the way to Dessau there was a stop in Ferropolis – City of Iron. Lunch was a picnic under a digger, which provided shelter from the rain. The team was amazed by the construction of the steel colossus. During a tour of the industrial monument with a former miner as their guide, the group not only learnt some interesting facts about the history of open-cast mining in the region, but also climbed to the top of two of the five conveyors, where everyone enjoyed the view over Ferropolis, Lake Gremmin and the Düben Heath.
From Ferropolis it was not far to Dessau. The weather improved considerably towards evening and the team was treated to a walk through the Georgium Park, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz. The destination was the Kornhaus, which was designed by Carl Fieger and is situated on the River Elbe. The first day ended with a pleasant get-together in a brewery.
Straight after breakfast the following day, while the sun was shining, we went to the Bauhaus building in Dessau, which was designed by Walter Gropius the founder of the Bauhaus. The team was taken on a tour of the building complex by an enthusiastic guide. On the way to the neighbouring Masters’ Houses, the group passed the drinking hall of the third Bauhaus director Mies van der Rohe. In the Kieferwäldchen, the team visited the reconstructed Masters’ Houses as well as the picturesquely decorated Kandinsky/Klee Masters’ House. After lunch in Dessau city centre, the Berlin office drove to the Bauhaus housing estate Dessau-Törten in the south of Dessau. During the guided tour of the terraced housing estate, which was designed by the Bauhaus to meet the need for low-cost mass housing, the colleagues were able to see not just the consumer building and a model flat in its original state in an arcade house, but also two houses faithfully restored to their original condition. The team returned to Berlin late on Saturday afternoon with plenty of valuable insights.