Walter gropius architecture style

German architect, designer, founder and director of the Bauhaus art and industrial school. Date of Birth: Country: Germany

Biography of Walter Gropius

Early Life and Education

Walter Gropius was a German architect, designer, and founder and director of the school of art and design.

He was born on May 18, , in Berlin and studied at the Technical Schools in Berlin and Munich.

Walter gropius brief biography samples pdf Gropius left the Bauhaus in and moved to Berlin. This works to eliminate the distinction between interior and exterior, a reoccurring theme in modernist architecture. Cite article. Note: For other famous Continental architects active at this time, see the Viennese Secessionist designer Joseph Maria Olbrich ; and the art nouveau architects Victor Horta and Hector Guimard

His work in the studio of P. Behrens, one of whose students was also Le Corbusier, had a significant influence on his future career.

Architectural Works

Gropius gained European recognition for his design of the 'Fagus' shoe factory in Alfeld () and the factory complex in Cologne (). After World War I, he received an invitation to lead the School of Art in Weimar.

Gropius reformed the educational program and expanded the school, which was renamed 'Bauhaus' in , and later moved to Dessau in

Building the Bauhaus

One of Gropius's most notable works is the Bauhaus building in Dessau, constructed between and The structure clearly exhibits a constructive foundation with minimal decoration, defining the characteristics of modern functionalism.

The Bauhaus became an international art center, and Gropius aimed to introduce a universal and flexible educational program that maximized the development of individual creative abilities.

Later Career and Emigration

In , Gropius stepped down as the director of the Bauhaus and moved to Berlin. In the late s and early s, his focus shifted to the creation of industrial buildings, affordable housing for workers, cooperative stores, and houses after building the theater in Jena.

Gropius's style had little in common with the neoclassicism, the official architectural style of Nazi Germany, leading him to emigrate to London in He co-founded his own company with Maxwell Fry, which lasted for three years.

Walter gropius brief biography samples Also, when the Bauhaus relocated from Weimar to Dessau, Gropius himself designed and built the school building and faculty housing. That said, he was an authentic pioneer of the modernist style, who influenced a whole generation of designers around the world. Before that, however, he did accept an invitation in early to compete for the design of the new Reichsbank building and submitted a detailed plan. The influence of their experience at Behrens's office, where they worked on projects such as the AEG Turbine Factory, can be seen in the openness of the aesthetic and the expansive use of glass.

In , Gropius moved to the United States and became a professor and head of the architecture department at Harvard University, where he taught until

Later Works and Death

Among Gropius's works from the s to the s, notable examples include the Harvard Graduate Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts (), the University Buildings in Baghdad (from ), the US Embassy in Athens (), and the American Airlines Skyscraper in New York City ().

Gropius authored several books, including "Bauhaus " (), "Total Architecture" (), and "Apollo in the Democracy" (). He passed away in Boston on July 5, See also BAUHAUS.