Architect · Germany and United States · 1883-1969
Walter Gropius Biography, Buildings and Best Books
German-American architect (1883-1969) who founded the Bauhaus and reshaped modern architecture and design education, from the Fagus Factory to the Bauhaus building in Dessau.
Photo: Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Biography
Walter Gropius (1883-1969) was a German-American architect and educator, the founder of the Bauhaus and one of the pioneers of modern architecture. His belief in uniting art, craft and industry, and in collaborative design, shaped architectural education on both sides of the Atlantic.
Early Career and the Fagus Factory
Born in Berlin into a family of architects, Gropius studied in Munich and Berlin and worked for Peter Behrens before opening his own office in 1910 with Adolf Meyer. Their Fagus Factory in Alfeld, with glass curtain walls wrapping its corners, became one of the founding works of modern architecture.
The Bauhaus
In 1919 Gropius founded the Bauhaus in Weimar, a school that combined fine arts, crafts and later industrial design. When the school moved to Dessau, he designed its new building (1925-1926), a pinwheel composition of glass, steel and white planes, along with the Masters’ Houses. He stepped down as director in 1928.
Emigration and Harvard
Under pressure from the Nazi regime, Gropius left Germany in 1934 for London, where he worked with Maxwell Fry, and in 1937 moved to the United States to teach at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, chairing its architecture department until 1952. His own house in Lincoln, Massachusetts, adapted Bauhaus principles to New England materials.
The Architects Collaborative
In 1945 he founded The Architects Collaborative (TAC) with younger partners, reflecting his belief in teamwork. TAC’s works include the Harvard Graduate Center and the John F. Kennedy Federal Building in Boston, and Gropius consulted on the Pan Am Building in New York. He received the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1956 and the AIA Gold Medal in 1959.
Walter Gropius: Visionary Founder of the Bauhaus
Fiona MacCarthy’s acclaimed biography draws on new archival research to tell the full story of Gropius’s life, from Berlin and the Bauhaus to exile and Harvard, restoring the man behind the legend.
View on AmazonLooking for a shorter introduction? Gropius, TASCHEN Basic Art Series (96 pages).
Timeline
- 1883Born on 18 May in Berlin.
- 1908Joins the office of Peter Behrens.
- 1910Opens his own practice with Adolf Meyer.
- 1913Completes the Fagus Factory in Alfeld with Adolf Meyer.
- 1914Designs the model factory for the Werkbund Exhibition in Cologne.
- 1919Founds the Bauhaus in Weimar.
- 1926Completes the Bauhaus building and the Masters’ Houses in Dessau.
- 1928Steps down as director of the Bauhaus.
- 1934Emigrates to London and works with Maxwell Fry.
- 1937Moves to the United States to teach at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.
- 1938Completes his own house in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and becomes chair of Harvard’s architecture department.
- 1945Founds The Architects Collaborative (TAC).
- 1956Receives the RIBA Royal Gold Medal.
- 1959Receives the AIA Gold Medal.
- 1969Dies on 5 July in Boston.
- 1996The Bauhaus buildings in Weimar and Dessau are inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage.
Best Books on Walter Gropius
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Walter Gropius known for?
Walter Gropius is known for founding the Bauhaus in 1919, the most influential school of modern art, architecture and design, and for buildings such as the Fagus Factory and the Bauhaus in Dessau. He later shaped American architectural education at Harvard.
What are Walter Gropius’s most famous buildings?
His most celebrated works include the Fagus Factory in Alfeld (1911-1913), the Bauhaus building and Masters’ Houses in Dessau (1925-1926), the Gropius House in Lincoln, Massachusetts (1938), and, with The Architects Collaborative, the Harvard Graduate Center and the John F. Kennedy Federal Building in Boston.
What is the best book about Walter Gropius?
For the definitive biography we recommend Fiona MacCarthy’s Walter Gropius: Visionary Founder of the Bauhaus. For a short introduction, choose Gropius from the TASCHEN Basic Art series, and for his own ideas, The New Architecture and the Bauhaus.
What architectural style is Walter Gropius?
Gropius was a founder of the Modern Movement and the International Style, favoring functional plans, industrial materials, glass curtain walls and an aesthetic free of historical ornament.
Where can you visit Walter Gropius’s buildings?
The Bauhaus building and Masters’ Houses in Dessau and the Fagus Factory in Alfeld are UNESCO World Heritage sites open to visitors, and the Gropius House in Lincoln, Massachusetts, is a museum run by Historic New England.
