Breuer's Prefab House

Step inside the BAMBOS house, designed by Bauhaus master, Marcel Breuer

By Google Arts & Culture

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, Marcel Breuer, 1927, From the collection of: Bauhaus Dessau Foundation
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Marcel Breuer at the Bauhaus Dessau (ca. 1926) by Erich Consemüller (Photo)Bauhaus Dessau Foundation

Marcel Breuer was a brilliant student and junior Master at the Bauhaus in Dessau. He produced elegant furniture designs which became iconic examples of the Bauhaus style. 

As the Nazi party rose to prominence, Breuer left Germany for Britain and then America, where he began work on architectural projects.

BAMBOS Model (1927) by Marcel BreuerBauhaus Dessau Foundation

Even as early as 1926-7 he had designed a series of spectacular dwelling and studio houses (here in a 2002 reconstruction) for himself and his colleagues in Dessau. They were conceived as a counter-design to the smart group of Masters’ Houses by Gropius.

He would later adopt these supporting struts as a key feature of the house he conceived for his family in Connecticut.

BAMBOS 1 Design (1927) by Marcel BreuerBauhaus Dessau Foundation

The BAMBOS design project came about as a kind of small protest. Breuer and other younger Bauhaus members (including Josef Albers) complained about the "anti-social" student dwellings in Dessau. The masters, of course, lived in grand houses in the woods!

And so the project was born. The name BAMBOS is an acronym formed from the initial letters of the surnames of the rebellious potential residents: Breuer, Josef Albers, Hannes Meyer, Herbert Bayer, Otto Meyer-Ottens and Joost Schmidt.

Marcel Breuer (1950-08-08) by Walter SandersLIFE Photo Collection

Breuer became a true Bauhaus legend, not only thanks to his iconic chair-design, but because of what he achieved in his second career as an architect.

Now you can step inside the iconic BAMBOS house in Augmented Reality, or experience the 3D Model here!

Discover more in Bauhaus Everywhere

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The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

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