Architecturally significant homes aren’t just for coffee-table books. They’re meant to be lived in. By you. Even if just for a few inspiring nights. Here are three design escapes.
- BAUHAUS, DESSAU, GERMANY
Responsible for so much of the modern furniture, typography and architecture we love today, the Bauhaus school in Germany was as influential on the world of design as The Beatles were on 20th-century music. From 1925 to 1931, students there were educated in architecture, industrial design, metalworking, painting, photography and even colour theory and weaving.
And then, in 1933, the school was closed under pressure from the Nazi regime, which considered it a threat, due to its emphasis on individualism, creativity and intellectualism. There were three campuses during its lifetime, but founder Walter Gropius designed the largest one, in Dessau, where you can now spend the night in a dorm room. It’s an easy 90-minute train ride from Berlin’s Zoologischer station – and, upon arrival in Dessau, a pleasant 15-minute walk through the quiet little town over to the campus. The restored Bauhaus Building is one of the greatest and most faithful architectural restorations I have ever seen. I swear to God, the canteen looks like an Apple Store.
The rooms are ridiculously affordable and spotlessly clean, with bare walls and hard floors, yet each also has a beautifully designed (of course) bed and furniture by Bauhaus designers and illustrious alumni. Communal bathrooms are down the hall.
