The Founder of the Bauhaus | Walter Gropius | Design Documentary | Modernist Architecture

Bauhaus Documentary mentioned in video:

   • The Design Movement that Altered Hist...  

Walter Gropius was one of the most renowned designers and architects of the early 20th century. His influence can be seen to this day in many areas of modern life and contemporary design. Not only was Gropius a pioneer of modern architecture, he also was involved in the founding the Bauhaus, a revolutionary design school from Germany that created the bauhaus movement. The Bauhaus completely rethought the design education system in ways we still see in universities today. By respecting craft as much as it did art, it brought many disciplines together under one roof, which forced intermingling of designers with different backgrounds and skills, elevating the knowledge of the community as a whole. Later, the Bauhaus incorporated a number of mass production techniques into its curriculum, creating a community of designers ready to make a massive impact on the world during a time of mass industrialization. The school developed some of the most well known names in modernist design, as well as attracted many well established artists and designers currently practicing their respective disciplines to contribute to the growing ecosystem designers. Although its existence was relatively short-lived, the Bauhaus and the design ethos associated with it were hugely influential across the world. This was particularly prevalent in the United States where many of the artists moved before and during the Second World War to escape persecution by the Nazis.

Gropius had a massive impact on the state of design during his practicing years, many of which outlasted his time on this earth. One of which was spreading his belief that design should be approached through a lens of problem solving rather than simply the ornamentation and beautification of objects. He applied this ethos to beyond what is typically thought of as design to wider social issues which included designing affordable housing post war and working to improve physical conditions for factory workers through his architecture and design practice. While many factories at the time were dark and depressing, Gropius utilized massive sheets of glass to bring light to an otherwise dull environment.

Beyond pushing the field of design and architecture into revolutionary new directions, Gropius also rethought a number of time tested construction practices. As an advocate for social change and affordable housing, Gropius experimented with the idea of prefabricated units to reduce construction cost, as well as brand new materials and building practices like reinforced concrete.

Beyond his revolutionary design ethos and development of modern construction practices, Gropius was also one of the founders of modernism in the United States. His building of the Gropius house and time spent lecturing at Harvard University proved hugely influential on the state of American design and architecture. At the time Gropius came to the states, his ideas were in stark contrast to the existing state of the field. While the US was largely still building structures similar to traditional European buildings of the past, Gropius’ highly logical and rigid style of buildings with flat roofs, a lack of ornamentation, and a sense of truth to material acted as a soft reset to the field of American architecture and design. He was also an advocate for seamlessly blending interiors and their surroundings through a heavy use of glass. At the time, many buildings sought to differentiate interior and exterior spaces by creating a unique internal environment protected from the outside world. Gropius threw that idea to the wind and developed spaces that worked harmoniously with their environments, embracing the beauty of the outdoors rather than fighting against it.

To get a full understanding of how Gropius became so influential, it’s important to understand his background. Walter Gropius was born in Berlin to his father Walter Adolph Gropius, (a German government official), and mother Manon Auguste Pauline Scharnweber, the daughter of the Prussian politician Georg Scharnweber. His parents, being of this status, were obviously quite wealthy and well connected. As a result, Gropius enjoyed his summers on the estates of affluent family members. This could have been the time where Gropius began to appreciate the beauty of the outdoors which would later come to inform many of his architectural decisions. His Father, Walter Gropius Senior had a strong interest in architecture. Additionally, Gropius's uncle, Martin Gropius, was a well known architect. Martin Gropius’s biggest commission was the design for the Museum of Decorative Arts in Berlin. We can see that Gropius had many architectural influences from an early age, likely leading him down his future career path.

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