Dessau, Germany: Bauhaus & Umweltbundesamt Environmental Agency

So today we went to Dessau, Germany. The group and I took a 2 hour train ride through scenic rural Germany to get there from Berlin. It was a rainy day so that put a slight damper on things but it turned out to be an awesome time. First we went to visit the Bauhaus which is the "birth place" of modernism designed by Walter Gropius. This was the home of a school, dorms, and workshop for design students before the war. The main idea behind this building was true functionality and nothing more, no gaudy decorations, nothing hidden. The beauty was meant to be seen in its simplicity and cleverness of the design. The site is now just for touring purposes, it was mostly destroyed during the war but has since been re built.
After leaving the Bauhaus we walked through an AMAZING building. We were all caught off guard when we entered. This is the office/ administrative building for the Umweltbundesamt Environmental Agency in Germany. The building is one of the most sustainable and environmentally conscious buildings. We toured a conference room, the library which was incredible, and the lecture hall. The layout of this building is almost like 2 separate building structures on either side of one another, yet the middle area is covered. It is fully protected from the elements, there are trees and other vegetation-in a way it was like a green house. There are bridges running above this middle space to connect the offices. It's hard to describe but hopefully the picture will help.  Until next time.
Ciao!