Walter Gropius (1883 – 1969) is the history of modern architecture

Walter Gropius (1883 – 1969) was an architect born in Germany in the early twentieth century who contributed to the founding of the Bauhaus School. He lived in the United States after 1937 and taught at Harvard University, where he continued to defend the principles of Bauhaus, especially the use of functional materials and clean geometric designs.

He combined the roles of an architect and an educator throughout his life. At a time when architecture was at its lowest level, he began his career. The rise of industrialisation in the 19th century and the new pattern of life led to a steady decline in the arts.

In Europe, the revolt against decadence began. In the early years of the 20th century, the new architectural philosophy, now referred to as the modernist movement, flourished. It was mainly in Germany, however, that structures were built that influenced the development of architecture. The new architecture was supported by the architects responsible for these buildings, houses, schools and factories.

Biography

In 1911, the architect Walter Gropius built the Fagus factory in Leine. This building used techniques and materials developed by industrial society but never used in construction. Its walls were glass, the windows not just opened in the wall anymore but expanded to become the wall itself. The interior was independently supported, and the exterior glass walls were only light-transparent screens.

A few months before the outbreak of World War 1, Gropius conceived a model factory for a Cologne exhibition. Again, the building evolved into a virtually suspended glass-walled box in the air. These two structures underscored the development of architecture throughout much of the 20th century.

Bauhaus

After serving in World War 1, Gropius took over the Bauhaus, a technical training experiment for the technological age. In 1925, this institution moved from Weimar to Dessau, housed in a new building designed by Gropius.

Any previous architectural or monumental suggestions were not included in this new design. The buildings consisted of classrooms, workshops and living rooms, giving the first indication of what later became Gropius style for his followers worldwide. The Bauhaus group comprised many different activities, each clearly articulated in its activities, but all composed of a balanced, exciting entity.

During this period, Gropius experimented with the design of residential homes. In the houses he built for himself and others, he became interested in new building techniques, new spatial patterns, and his preference for clear, positive, but non – aggressive forms.

In 1933, the Bauhaus was closed. In later years, traditional roofs were built by official decree on the top of the buildings. In the years that followed, when a formal Nazi style of architecture was enforced, Europe’s leading architects continued to emigrate to England and the United States.

Fascist Germany derided the new architecture as “Communistic”. Ironically the very same architecture was unacceptable in the Soviet Union, where it was labelled as “Fascist.”

Move to the west

In England, where Gropius lived for several years, he rediscovered his personal and professional freedom. However, even then, England still denied him opportunities for construction and lost him to the United States in 1937. The development of architecture was spectacular in the United States after the second world war. The arrival of men like Gropius, Van der Rohe, Mendelssohn and Chermeyeff in America began an architectural revival in that country.

Harvard Graduate School of Design

From 1938 to 1952, Walter Gropius headed the Harvard Graduate School of Design and made the school the world’s leading workshop on architecture. Gropius should be considered the most important of the early leaders. Not only as an architect but as a teacher, he could instruct and inspire others. His students have not developed as pale copies of him but as creative individuals in their own right.

The history of Walter Gropius is the history of modern architecture. In pre-war Germany, he, as an individual architect, presented to the world the first modern buildings. Between the wars, he sought asylum and educated a new generation of architects.

Sources

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.

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