Destroyed in air raids, two masters' houses at the Bauhaus have been "playfully" reinterpreted by Bruno Fioretti Marquez using modern construction methods.

There are those who say that an exact replica is the only acceptable response, while others take the view that the nature of certain designs makes them irreplaceable, and we would be as well to move on with contemporary replacements. A hybrid approach to this problem is demonstrated at the Bauhaus in Dessau, where Berlin-based architect Bruno Fioretti Marquez has recently completed the rebuilding and reinterpretation of two long-lost "masters' houses" by Walter Gropius.

The houses were stripped down into two operative components, that is, into its external shell and its internal organization. The shell is executed as a monolithic casting. The dimensions and proportions of the structure and the original position of the openings have been adopted as a reference to the original setting of the complex within the urban fabric. The material- insulating concrete is identical inside and outside, and this uniformity produces an alienating effect. The windows, which give the clearest indication of the changed usage of the houses, are set flush to the facade. The translucent glass shields the exhibition rooms from direct sunlight, while the view from within provides only a rather hazy sense of the contours of the surrounding environment.