5+1 questions for … Franz and Johannes Siebler about the bauhaus view

Johannes: For us the new museum annex was the starting point and central element for the first floor. That’s why we placed a model of the annex in the middle of the room, around which we arranged various media with additional information about the construction project. The visitors can look forward to an awesome experience in a small space!

Franz: We wanted to shed light on the processes and materials behind the building project before there was a final product.

Franz: We were strongly inspired by the building site itself – a temporary venue where many processes take place and constantly change. We were captivated by this moment of improvisation. And the room fits the theme – a site trailer which only exists temporarily and then disappears again. And the materials we used are only tied together, piled on top of each other or resting against one another – and can be disassembled at any time.

Johannes: We used raw materials, some of which come directly from the building site, like debris from the demolition. When you move through the room, it’s like touching the building site while viewing the construction progress.

Franz: I have no favourite piece – everything works together.

Johannes: I like the Triadic Figure which is enfolded within a chair by the Bauhäusler Marcel Breuer. Franz designed and produced it. I like getting to know the talents of other people through the process of collaboration. This appreciation then extends to the individual element and becomes a favourite object.

Johannes: The idea was to connect both venues of the Bauhaus-Archiv, namely the building site with its “bauhaus view” and the temporary bauhaus-archiv venue, by means of a walking tour that combines informative and activating analogue and digital elements with the surroundings.

Franz: We included architecture that only has an indirect connection to the Bauhaus, for example, overlooked memorials or buildings like the Rosa Luxemburg memorial, the Otto Frei eco-houses and the circulation tank by Ludwig Leo.

Johannes: As overarching themes, the Bauhaus and architecture offer a broad spectrum of locations which we could have included in a walking tour, since many of them were influenced by the Bauhaus. We wanted to keep it under 45 minutes, otherwise we could have included other highlights. I’m thinking of the former Berlin Pavilion at the entrance to the Hansa district which now houses a Burger King restaurant.

Franz: There’s a lot of exciting architecture in the Hansa district. That’s where architects like Walter Gropius, Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Egon Eiermann, Arne Jacobsen, Oscar Niemeyer und Max Taut designed a number of buildings for the International Building Exhibition “Interbau” in 1957.

Johannes: Learning by doing is the best way to understand the Bauhaus. The fact that the new tower will be exclusively used for educational purposes shows that exhibiting is not the only important thing for the museum, but also allowing visitors to actively engage with the collection.

Franz: I look forward to the exciting programmes which draw inspiration from the Bauhaus to get visitors thinking about the issues of life in the future – beyond the purely traditional, historical aspects.

Franz: This object gives me steampunk vibes. It also reminds me of something rusty you could cut yourself on – of my tetanus shot.

Johannes: My first association is a scrap metal container. Whenever we pass one on the street, Franz and I can’t resist but to look inside.

Franz and Johannes Siebler work as interdisciplinary designers in Berlin at the interface of analogue and digital production of forms and space. At the Bauhaus-Archiv, they have developed, among other things, concepts for the bauhaus_lab educational workshops which they regularly lead themselves.