The collection of pieces originating from the formative years of the most important school of architecture and design of the 20th century has grown enormously with numerous purchases and donations since 1990.

The architectural design competition for the new Bauhaus Museum was launched by the board of trustees of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar on 14 July 2011.

The goal of the first round was to find an appropriate location for the new Bauhaus Museum in the complex urban setting of downtown Weimar.

[5] The Klassik Stiftung Weimar insisted on this complex procedure in order to find an architecturally innovative, sustainable, energy-efficient and museologically sound solution for the new Bauhaus Museum that takes full advantage of the urban-planning potential of the Weimarhallenpark.

On 16 March 2012 the international jury awarded two second-place and two third-place prizes and conferred three honourable mentions.

The two second-place prizes went to Johann Bierkandt (Landau) and the architects HKR (Klaus Krauss and Rolf Kursawe, Cologne).

The two third-place prizes went to Heike Hanada with Benedict Tonon (Berlin), who were eventually appointed as principal architects,[1] and Bube/Daniela Bergmann (Rotterdam).

The Klassik Stiftung Weimar then began negotiating with the four prize winners according to VOF procedure (Contracting Regulations for the Awarding of Professional Services).