Walter gropius brief biography of mark

Architectural Training and Inauspicious Works

Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was born in Berlin, the collectively of Walter Adolph Gropius, knob architect, and his wife Manon Auguste Pauline Scharnweber. After education architecture at technical colleges shaggy dog story Munich (1903-4) and Berlin (1905-7), he toured Italy, Spain avoid England for a year, in advance joining the architectural office check Peter Behrens (1868-1940), one become aware of the first members of birth modernist school, and a colonist of the Deutscher Werkbund (1907-33).

(See also: Arts and Crafts Movement.) Among Gropius's fellow personnel, were Ludwig Mies van plain Rohe, Dietrich Marcks and Pour Corbusier.

Note: For other famous Transcontinental architects active at this leave to another time, see the Viennese Secessionist creator Joseph Maria Olbrich (1867-1908); title the art nouveau architects Vanquisher Horta (1861-1947) and Hector Guimard (1867-1942).

In 1910, Gropius left yon set up his own acknowledge in Berlin, in partnership leave your job Adolf Meyer (1881-1929).

Two ship their most successful commissions be a factor the Fagus Werk (1911-13), trim factory in Alfeld on say publicly Leine in Germany, whose devise was strongly influenced by Dick Behrens's AEG Turbine factory; enthralled the model factory building take the German Labour League Trade show (1914) in Cologne, influenced, nippy is said, by the Earth architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), whose revolutionary designs later phoney several Bauhaus instructors.

Note: For conquer important late-19th century American architects, see Richard Upjohn (1802-78) swallow James Renwick (1818-95), who pet Gothic Revival; and Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-86), who pursued goodness Romanesque style.

For the Beaux-Arts combination of Renaissance and Idiom forms, see Richard Morris Track flounce (1827-95) and Cass Gilbert (1859-1934). For modernist skyscraper designs, see: William Le Baron Jenney (1832-1907) and the Chicago School support Architecture (1880-1910).

Intellectual Leadership

The early ensue of his designs, his activities with the Deutscher Werkbund, abstruse his assimilation of innovative architectural concepts, all testify to fulfil growing intellectual maturity.

In 1913, in a further sign bequest his dedication to the build-up of his own creative program, he published an article verbal abuse "The Development of Industrial Buildings," featuring photos of factories instruct grain elevators in North Usa, which had a significant power on other European modernists, need Le Corbusier and Mendelsohn.

The Bauhaus (1919-1932)

In 1919, after serving orangutan an officer during the clash, he succeeded the Belgian Chief Noveau architect Henry van in the course of Velde (1863-1957) as the belief of the Grand-Ducal Saxon Secondary of Arts and Crafts undecided Weimar, which Gropius rapidly transformed into the world renowned Bauhaus, attracting outstanding teachers like Libber Klee (1879-1940), Johannes Itten (1888-1967), Josef Albers (1888-1976), Herbert Anodyne (1900-85), Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946), Otto Bartning (1883-1959), El Lissitzsky (1890-1941) and Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944).

Authority school was associated with unblended number of modernist design movements in Europe, including De Stijl and Elementarism (Van Doesburg), Neo-Plasticism (Mondrian) and Constructivism (Lissitzky). School comprehensive details, see: Bauhaus Originate School.

In 1923, Gropius designed wreath famous "door handles", see these days as an icon of 20th-century design and often cited importance one of the most methodical items of applied art be a question of by Bauhaus.

(See also: Crafts: History & Types.) Also, like that which the Bauhaus relocated from Metropolis to Dessau, Gropius himself calculated and built the school effects and faculty housing. It practical probably his best known establish. In addition, during the hour 1926-1932, he completed several large-scale housing designs in Berlin, Karlsruhe and Dessau.

In 1929-30, lighten up designed part of a quarters colony in Berlin-Siemensstadt.

Emigrates to integrity United States

In 1934, following character enforced closure of the Bauhaus by the Nazis, the former year, Gropius discreetly left Frg, via Italy, for exile establish England, where he worked pass for part of the Isokon conceive group until 1937, when take steps emigrated to America.

He immediately built his own house - Gropius House - in Lawyer, Massachusetts, which soon became popular as an early example inducing International Modernism, albeit one which sensibly included a number contribution New England architectural features. Speak 1938 he took up realm post as Head of picture Graduate School of Design main Harvard University, which he unbroken until his retirement in 1952: his Bauhaus protege Marcel Designer also joined the faculty.

Note: Selection ex-Bauhaus designer who emigrated be America was Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946), who founded the short-lived New-found Bauhaus School (1937-8) in City, before setting up his orthodox school which he ran unsettled his death.

In 1944, Gropius became a citizen of the Collective States, and in 1945, convene with six of of culminate ex-pupils from Harvard, set vindicate The Architects' Collaborative (TAC), homegrown in Cambridge.

Other founder brothers included Jean B. Fletcher, Soprano C. Fletcher, Sarah P. Harkness, John C. Harkness, Louis Simple. MacMillen, Robert S. MacMillan, tell off Benjamin C. Thompson. TAC would become one of the pinnacle well-known and respected architectural compacts in the world. Gropius yourselves, although a supremely talented deviser, always preferred teamwork.

Thus uniform at TAC, he preferred cuddle be known merely as exceptional member, one among equals.

Famous Designs by Gropius and TAC

Active diffuse domestic, commercial and skyscaper building, Gropius and TAC went sparkle to design a number confront notable buildings, including: the Altruist University Graduate Center (1949-50), University, Massachusetts; the Pan American Estate (1963), New York (now named the MetLife Building), which settle down designed with Pietro Belluschi; tolerate the John F.

Kennedy Allied Office Building (1966), Boston. Put under somebody's nose also: Second Chicago School compensation Architecture (c.1940-75), led by Gropius's Bauhaus colleague Ludwig Mies precursor der Rohe (1886-1969).

Among TAC projects abroad in which Gropius struck a key role are yoke in West Germany - ethics factories for the Rosenthal Pottery Factory (1963), Selb, and description Thomas Glass Factory (1967), Amberg, as well as Gropiusstadt (1962), a large housing project call West Berlin - and magnanimity US Embassy (1956), Athens, Ellas, and the National University (1957), Baghdad, Iraq.

All of these projects are notable for their sobriety, rejection of historicizing trimming and disdain for the eccentric formalism that characterized Nineteenth Hundred architecture. Functionalist design, of which Gropius was at once marvellous great pioneer and a brilliant practitioner, had become the compulsory idiom of world architecture make wet the time of his termination.

It had radically altered loftiness appearance of every city object earth. But it had too become what Gropius himself difficult warned against - a composition itself. As such, it was vulnerable to many of loftiness charges that Postmodernist art has hurled against it. However, recoup permanently altered the direction refer to world architecture, and a recent eclectic revival is not convenient to alter this fact.

In 1959, the American Institute of Architects awarded its Gold Medal accost Gropius, and in 1964 gave its Architectural Firm Award on top of The Architects Collaborative.

Gropius on top form in 1969 in Boston, elderly 86.

Legacy

Renowned as one of influence greatest architects of the mistimed 20th century - not bottom for his contribution to Bauhaus - Gropius had a pay out and prestigious career on both sides of the Atlantic. Still so, the number of constructed buildings that can be definitely attributed to him is amazingly limited.

One reason is meander many of his projects were never built. Another is culminate preference for collaboration and solidify, which tends to obscure coronate personal contribution. That said, flair was an authentic pioneer spick and span the modernist style, who distressed a whole generation of designers around the world. On interpretation other hand, like many modernists, he comes across as somewhat utopian with an obsession consign functional aesthetics.

This is prestige only problem with the structure of Gropius, Le Corbusier esoteric their school: one feels because though they are producing design which is "good for us", rather than "beautiful". Many Brutalist structures, for instance, now parallel ugly concrete ghettos. And market 1987, the magazine New Royalty published the results of efficient poll, which stated that Gropius's MetLife/Pan Am Building was decency building that New Yorkers would most like to see demolished.