WALTER GROPIUS

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
PRINCIPLES
BUILDINGS

"Architecture begins where the engineering ends" -

Walter Gropius
 INTRODUCTION
Pioneer Master Of Modern Architecture.
Born In Berlin On 18 May 1883.
Was A German Architect And An Educator.
Influential Proponent Of Modern Design And Furthered His Ideas Through
Bauhaus School Design.
He Was Taught By His Father Who Also Was An Architect And Learned The
Study Of Proportions With Actual Architectural Expressions By His Uncle.
Gropius Could Not Draw, And Was Dependent On Collaborators And
Partner-interpreters Throughout His Career. In School He Hired An Assistant
To Complete His Homework For Him.
Gropius’s Career Was Interrupted By The Outbreak Of World War-1 In 1914
And Served As A Sergeant And Then As A Lieutenant. GEORGE WALTER ADOLF GROPIUS
EDUCATION AND EARLY WORKS
• 1903 He Left School And Went To The Technical University In Munich To Study Architecture.
• Although He Studied Architecture In Munich And Berlin (1903-1907), He Received No Degree.
• In 1908,gropius Worked Under The Renowned Architect And Industrial Designer Peter Behrens Till
1910.
• In 1919, Gropius Transformed The Grand-ducal Saxon School Of Arts And Craft Into The World
Famous Bauhaus.
• In 1934, He Moved And Began To Work In Britain.
• In 1937, He Moved To New York And Taught At The Harvard University.
• In 1946, Gropius Founded The Young Architects Association, The Architects Collaborative(tac).
 PRINCIPLES
 His Design Has Full Command Of The Elements Of Architecture, Which Were To Constitute The International
Modern Style.
 He Believed That All Initial Training For Artist And Craftsman Should Be Same I.e. Introduction To Form, Colour,
Nature Of Material.
• Simple Geometry Often Rectangular.
• Use Of Modern Materials Like Steel, Rcc And Glass
• Smooth Surface
• Primary Colours
• Linear And Horizontal Elements
 Grid System
 In Those Times The Use Of Machine Was Encouraged Because Of The Phase Of Industrialisation.
 He Realized The Interdependence Of Machine And Architecture, Thus Encouraged The Use Of Prefabricated Units.
Plane surface without any
ornamentation
Colours:
white,
gray,
beige
or black
New Technology
Uses of :
Concrete Glass Steel

"The ultimate aim of all artistic activity is building! The artist is a heightened manifestation
of the craftsman... Let us together create the new building of the future which will be all in
one: architecture and sculpture and painting." -Walter Gropius
FAMOUS BUILDINGS
Fagus Factory (1911-1913)
Bauhaus
Gropius House (1937-38 )
Josephine M. Hagerty House 1938
J.f. Kennedy Federal Building : 1963-1966
Pan Am Building(now Metlife Building) 1960-1963
Waldenmark 1939
 FAGUS FACTORY

 The Fagus Factory Is A Shoe Last Factory In Alfeld On

The Leine In Germany And Is An Important Example Of
Early Modern Architecture.
 Constructed Between 1911-1913, It Was Walter
Gropius' First Independent Commission
 It Was Called An Artistic And Practical Design By
Gropius
 It Was In Collaboration With Adolf Meyer.
 Most Striking Thing: Simplicity And Confidence Of The
Architecture.
FAGUS FACTORY
 Fagus Structure Was Actually A Hybrid Construction Of Brick Columns, Steel Beams And Concrete Floor
Slabs And Stairways.
 It Was A Steel Frame Supporting The Floors, Glass Screen External Walls.
 Pillars Are Set Behind The Façade So That Its Curtain Character Is Fully Realized.
 Glass Screen Was Used All Over The Walls To Have Proper View From Inside.
 Walls Are No Longer Supporters Of The Building But Simple Curtain Projecting Against Increment
Weather.
 It Was Domination Of Voids Over Solids.
 Plane Surfaces Predominate In This Factory.
 The Glass And Walls Are Joined Cleanly At The Corners Without The Intervention Of Piers.
FAGUS FACTORY
• Use Of Floor-To-Ceiling Glass Windows On Steel Frames That Go Around Tthe
Corners Of The Buildings Without A Visible (most of the time without any) Structural
Support.
• The Other Unifying Element Is The Use Of Brick.
• All Buildings Have A Base Of About 40cm Of Black Brick And The Rest Is Built Of
Yellow Bricks.
• In Order To Enhance This Feeling Of Lightness, Gropius and Meyer Used A Series
Of optical Refinements Like Greater Horizontal Than Vertical Elements On The
Windows, Longer Windows On The Corners And Taller Windows On The Last Floor.
• The Fagus Factory Is Still In Use Today And Was Included On The List Of
Unesco World Heritage Sites In 2011.
 FAGUS FACTORY

The Main Building, Rectangular In Shape, Was Designed As A

The Office And Is One Of The Most Important And
Structural Framework Without Pillars In The Corners, With A
Characteristic Of The Complex.
Front Metal Grid Cut By Glass Covers, One Of The First
Examples Of Curtain Wall.
ELEVATION
FAGUS FACTORY
Façade of three- storey

Open space

Flat-roofed structure

Striking, fully glazed

corners
( Glass curtain walls )

Vaulted entrance
FAGUS FACTORY

According to Gropius, the factory

should be a kind of palace for the
workers who were offered light,
The supports of
air and hygienic atmosphere
the building are
hidden

Slender piers

Iron frame
 BAUHAUS
Designed By Gropius And His Partner Meyer With Certain
Amount of Participation From Students.
Bauhaus, Was An Art School In Germany That Combined
Crafts And The Fine Arts.
It Operated From 1919 To 1933. At That Time the German
Term about This Sound Bauhaus literally "house Of
Construction"—was Understood As Meaning "school Of
Building".
 The Complex Consists Of Five Main Elements Fully
Glazed 3 Storeyed:
 Workshop Block.
 Teaching Block.
 Social Areas.
“The Bauhaus was not an institution… it was an
 A 5-storeyed Study Block.
idea.”- Mies van der Rohe, its last director
 An Administrative Wing Spanning the Roadway
1953
 BAUHAUS SITE PLAN

BAUHAUS
To Produce A Separation Of Each Of These Functions
From Others, At The Same Time Not Isolating Them
But Bringing Them Together Into Efficient Integration.
Workshops Noticeably More Industrial, Particularly In
Their Window
The Square Pedalled Metal Windows Are Typical Of
Mass Produced Industrial Units.

BLOCK VIEW OF BAUHAUS BUILDING:

1. WORKSHOP
2. DINING HALL
3. STUDIO WORKSHOP
4. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE
5. TRADE SCHOOL
 BAUHAUS
Aesthetically Bauhaus Was An Advanced Building But
Technologically- Probably Because Of The Limited Funds, It
Was ,someway Behind The Contemporary Works.
Bauhaus Is Enclosed By Glass Curtains
The Curtain Glass Walling Was First Used In Fagus Factory -
1911 And Then Used With Certain Refinement.
The Whole Cube Seems Like To Immense Horizontal Plains
Floating On The Ground.
Giant Light Cube Dazzling White Light From Every Wall.
The High Glass Walls Revealing The Light Steel Structure….
Delineated In All Its Transparency By The Iron Grid Of Its
Exterior Structure.
 BAUHAUS
Plan Show The Linear Nature Of The Individual Structures.
The Complex Is Divided Into Three Main Wings.
The Studio Apartments Are Connected By Auditorium, Canteen, Kitchens
And Gymnasium To The Long Narrow
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
The Wing On Left Is The School Of Arts And Crafts, Wing On The Right
Accommodate The Workshop.

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

Form follows Function :
• Flat Roofs
• Smooth Facades Cubic Shapes
• Colours Are White, Gray, Beige Or Black
• Floor Plans Are Open
• Furniture Is Functional
Door knob
Bauhaus
door knob

VS
Early decorative
door knob
 FAÇADE OF THE STUDENTS STUDIO APARTMENTS WITH
GENERAL VIEW OF THE BAUHAUS THEIR CANTILEVERED BALCONIES AND LARGE OPENINGS
BUILDING
BAUHAUS, DESSAU. ADMINISTRATION WING OVER BAUHAUS, DESSAU. STUDENT’S
THE STREET, CONNECTING THE SCHOOL DIVISIONS. STUDIOS IN FOREGROUND

BAUHAUS, DESSAU. BAUHAUS, DESSAU. INTERIOR,

INTERIOR, WORKSHOP. CORRIDOR AND STAIRS
BAUHAUS, DESSAU INTERIOR, DIRECTORS BAUHAUS, DESSAU. INTERIOR, STUDENTS
OFFICE. WORK AND BEDROOM

BAUHAUS, DESSAU. INTERIOR, AUDITORIUM

SECTION
GROPIUS HOUSE , LINCLON, MASSACHUSETTS

It Was Done In Patrnership With Marcel Breller In Linclon (1937-

38 )
There Was An Extensive Use Of Timber Reinforced With Some
Steel Members , Lends A Different And Softer Character To The
Building.
GROPIUS HOUSE, LINCLON,
Timber Cladding Was Hung Vertically. MASSACHUSETTS

Inconsistent Use Of Elements Like Spiral Stair To Roof Terrace

And Sun Lounge.
GROPIUS HOUSE , LINCLON, MASSACHUSETTS

•Every aspect of the house and its surrounding landscape was planned for maximum
efficiency and simplicity.
•The Gropius House mixes up the traditional materials of New England architecture
(wood, brick, and fieldstone) with industrial materials such as glass block , acoustic
plaster, and chrome banisters.
•The house structure consists of a traditional New England post and beam wooden
frame.
•It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2000.
 GROUND FLOOR PLAN

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

 GROPIUS HOUSE , LINCLON , MASSACHUSETTS

GARDEN ELEVATION- GROPIUS HOUSE-

EXTERIOR VIEW FROM SOUTH LIVING AND DINING ROOM

 JOSEPHINE M. HAGERTY HOUSE
A historic house at 357 Atlantic Avenue in Cohasset,
Massachusetts.
Located a few feet from the shoreline.
Built in 1938 and added to the National Register of Historic
Places in 1997.
Architect : Walter Gropius; Marcel Breuer
Architectural style : International Style
The Hagerty House, was his first architectural commission in
the United States.
 JOSEPHINE M. HAGERTY HOUSE
Two-story part-time residence characterized by a plain
geometric form and simplicity of detail, with a large living
area and several bedrooms.
The exterior staircases were constructed of welded and
galvanized steel pipes.
Granite was used for half of the house’s base as well as for
the mortared stone walls located at the front and rear.
The roughly L-shaped house’s main longitudinal section extends
in a north–south orientation, punctuated by floor-to-ceiling
windows and smaller bands of glass designed to maximize
views of the Atlantic Ocean.
 In the living room, there's a black leather Le
Corbusier lounge and a Minotti sofa set.
Upstairs, the bedrooms are arranged in a uniform line of five
cubicles. Initially, each bedroom had a vividly colored western
wall—red, blue, yellow, or green—with the remaining three
walls painted white.
The main staircase consists of simple oak treads that cantilever
out from side walls sheathed in natural vertical board and are
supported on the other side by a continuous grill-like railing
truss.
J.F. KENNEDY FEDERAL BUILDING
John Fitzgerald Kennedy Federal Building is a United States Federal government office building
located in the Government Center area of Boston, Massachusetts.
It is a complex that consists of two 26 floor towers and a low rise building of four floors that connects to
the two towers via an enclosed glass corridor.
The two towers stand at a height of 387 feet (118 m).

Building facts:
Architects: Walter Gropius and The Architects Collaborative with Samuel
Glaser
Construction Dates: 1963-1966
Architectural Style: Sixties Modern
Primary Materials: Steel, Reinforced Concrete, and Glass
Prominent Features: Monolithic towers; Landscaped Plaza; Public Art
 J.F. KENNEDY FEDERAL BUILDING
The exterior of the towers is constructed of pre-cast reinforced concrete.
The lower sections are faced with polished granite.
All aluminum work has a dark anodized finish in a medium gray tone.
A glass-enclosed walkway connects the four-story building to the towers.
Like the towers, the low building's facade is made of concrete and glass.

The building's design result in 45% of the available space

being occupied by the structure.
The remaining portion contains terraces, plazas, landscaping,
a sunken patio, and driveways.
Plazas are surfaced with stone in most sections.
A tiered stair platform of cement and brick leads to the low
building.
WALDENMARK
Waldenmark, Also Known As The Edward Fischer House, Is A Historic House, Studio, Garage, And
Guesthouse Located In Wrightstown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Built1939,
Architect Gropius, Walter; Breuer, Marcel
Architectural Style International Style
The Main House Is A Two-level, Flat Roofed Dwelling.
It Is A Frame Structure With Redwood And Stone Sections.
It Features Curved Walls, Ribbon Windows, And A Freeform Stone Patio.
The Studio Is A Frame Structure With Redwood Siding With A Saltbox And Shed Roof Profile.
 The Guesthouse Is A Long Two-story Building With A Cantilevered Second Floor And Uneven Gable
Roof.
This property offers 3 buildings: a main residence, a writer's cottage and a carriage garage. Large floor
to ceiling windows, beautiful deck off of the 2nd level and 2 covered patios allow you to enjoy the
beauty of the natural surroundings.