uilt in 1924 by founding father of the Bauhaus, Walter
Gropius, Haus Auerbach, set on the outskirts of the city
of Jena, was an experiment in a new way of living.
It was designed for Felix Auerbach, a respected physicist
and professor of medicine, and his wife Anna, a board member
of the Central German Women’s Union – both of whom were
passionate about music, architecture and art.
The light, airy home, which included a music room and an indoor
‘winter garden’, was rationally designed in Gropius’s trademark
style, with no unnecessary details or embellishments. As the Nazis
rose to power, however, the Bauhaus, and this house, fell from grace.
After the war, Haus Auerbach, then located in the communist
German Democratic Republic, steadily tumbled into neglect.
Gropius strictly avoided symmetry when creating this building
(you need only look at the position of the windows on the exterior
above to see that), but what happened next has a pleasing consonance.
In 1994, another couple, Barbara Happe and Martin Fischer – also
academics with an interest in architecture and the arts – came
across Haus Auerbach and decided to make it their mission to
rescue it. ‘It was so special here, so different,’ says Barbara. ‘We’ve
always admired Modernist architecture and knew we couldn’t behappy anywhere else.’ She and Martin struggled through the
somewhat daunting process of buying a house in former East
Germany, then got to work. They stripped out all evidence of the
damage that had been done in the intervening years, and reinstated
original features, such as the metal-framed windows and linoleum
floors. Hidden beneath layers of wallpaper, the couple rediscovered
Gropius’s intended colour scheme – but it wasn’t the primary-hued
palette we often associate with Bauhaus. Rather, it was an unorthodox
yet nuanced combination of orange, blue and pink, with the paint
applied in playful, abstract blocks of colour, instead of wall-by-wall.
Adopting this scheme was no challenge for Barbara and Martin,
who already collected mid-century furniture and, since moving in,
have gradually acquired more classic pieces that sit happily in this
environment. ‘We see ourselves as custodians of the house, and we
love living with the Bauhaus colour palette,’ says Barbara. ‘It’s
sophisticated, but full of joy.’ haus-auerbach.deStudy A pair of ‘Diamond’ chairs by Harry Bertoia for Knoll are teamed
with an ‘MR’ table by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, also for Knoll. The
large abstract paintings are by German artist Georg Thumbach
Exterior This minimalist, blocky façade is typical of the Bauhaus style
Stockist details on p188B
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