WALTER GROPIUS: BIOGRAPHY, WORKS AND CONTRIBUTIONS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

Walter Gropius (1883-1969) was a renowned German architect and designer, known for being the founder of the famous Bauhaus art school. In addition, he also stood out for his urban projects: he was in charge of studying the different human settlements, seeking their improvement through innovative architectural designs.

Gropius stood out mainly for the design of housing blocks, trying to solve problems related to urbanism and society. The architecture of the Bauhaus group had as its main focus the improvement of the quality of life of people in the community, so its works tried to be functional and innovative.

Likewise, both Gropius and the Bauhaus school focused on the human element within their modern constructions, having it as the main point of reference and based on the satisfaction of human needs and the usefulness of the work without neglecting the search for beauty, as befits all art.

Biography

Gropius was born in the city of Berlin, Germany, being the descendant of a notable family of architects. After completing his first studies, he worked for the renowned architect Peter Behrens, who was the designer of the acclaimed AEG Turbine Hall, located in Berlin. After three years, Gropius managed to achieve his independence.

In 1915 he married Alma Mahler, a young woman of great talent for the arts and astonishing beauty, born into a privileged family of artists. Mahler also stood out as a composer, despite the fact that only 16 copies of her music remain.

Fagus reform

During those years Walter Gropius devoted himself mainly to the reform of the well-known Fagus factory, which is considered an example of what is considered modern architecture. In this factory, located in the small town of Alfeld, lasts were manufactured; These were intended to shape the costumes.

Similarly, it is said that the architecture of this factory - whose remodeling was commissioned by Carl Benscheidt - was intended to break with the company's past, so large glass surfaces and thin metal structures were used for its design.

At present you can still visit this place, since this work is considered a pioneer within the buildings erected by modern architecture. In fact, it was declared a World Heritage Site in 2011 by UNESCO.

Later, Gropius founded the Bauhaus school, of which he was director from 1919 to 1928. During this period the architect designed a great variety of infrastructures and places, focusing on the construction of large housing blocks and abiding by the principles of the school that had founded.

Bauhaus school

Before the creation of the Bauhaus school, there was already an art organization known as Deutscher Werkbund, which had the purpose of linking artistic currents with industrial design. This organization was made up of various architects, as well as renowned artists, including Walter Gropius.

The Deutscher Werkbund had been founded by Hermann Muthesius in 1907 and was located in the city of Munich. Thanks to its avant-garde ideas and its innovations in designs, this school symbolized a great change within modern architecture, since its ideas were precursors of what would later be the Bauhaus.

Bauhaus Ideology

In 1919 Gropius decided to merge the ideals of the School of Arts and Crafts with the School of Fine Arts, founding his own art, design and architecture organization.

The first branch of the Bauhaus (named by the author Staatliches Bauhaus) was located in Weimar, a German city known worldwide for its cultural heritage.

The Bauhaus ensured an aesthetic renewal of the arts, which should return to their social function without neglecting their search for beauty. In fact, based on art, the Bauhaus aspired to reform the bourgeois society of the time. This principle was based on the socialist ideas of its founder.

It is considered that the Bauhaus had three stages during its existence: the first, between 1919 and 1923, was called the romantic stage; then a more rationalist stage began, which spanned the years 1923 and 1925.

Finally, the Bauhaus reached its greatest splendor between the years 1925 and 1929, when the school managed to move to Dessau.

In 1930 the Bauhaus was moved to the capital, Berlin. Teaching methods changed radically when the architect Mies van der Rohe was appointed head of the school.

Closing of the Bauhaus and exile of Gropius

With the growing power of the Nazi party, the Bauhaus school was closed as dangerous for Hitler's ideology, since the foundations of the organization were socialist and internationalist.

This led to the members of the Bauhaus being exiled to other countries, an issue that was not entirely negative, since it allowed artists to spread their ideas around the world. In fact, Bauhaus architecture can be found in cities like Barcelona or Tel Aviv.

As for Walter Gropius, the author went into exile in 1936, first to England and later to the United States, where he was a professor of architecture at Harvard University. In 1946 he founded another organization of young architects, which was called The Architects Collaborative (better known by its acronym: TAC).

Most famous legacy

The city of Tel Aviv is the place that has the largest amount of Bauhaus-style architecture in the world. This is because, with the rise of the Nazis to power, many German architects took refuge there.

The set of Bauhaus-type buildings within Tel Aviv was called "The White City", since around 4000 buildings were built. This area was named a World Heritage Site in 2003.

Furthermore, the Bauhaus was not only dedicated to the discipline of architecture, but was also noted for a great deal of chair making, such as the famous Wassily Chair, designed by Marcel Breuer in 1926.

Bauhaus artists also stood out in the field of photography and typography, with László Moholy-Nagy, Herbert Bayer, Grete Stern and Horacio Coppola being some of their most recognized exponents.

One of the best known artists in the art world was Vasili Kandinsky, who during his stay at the Bauhaus made outstanding designs, drawings and paintings. In fact, the painter wrote one of the most important painting treatises while studying at the Bauhaus, which was titled Point and Line on the Plane (1926).

Death

This architect and designer, founder of the important Bauhaus school, died at the age of 86 in 1969, when he was residing in the city of Boston.

Plays

Gropius made countless designs. Among the most important are: the House of the Masters, located in Dessau, and the Construction of a circular facade in the Großen Tiergarten, located in Berlin.

Among the most outstanding works is also his own house, which is located in the United States, and a large skyscraper, which is located in New York and is called the PanAm Building.

In addition, he also designed the facade of the buildings located in one of the districts of Berlin, known as the Gropiusstadt (taking the name of the author), which was built in the 1960s. This district is considered a kind of annex of the capital, since it was given the category of "bedroom town".

Contributions

One of the great contributions of Walter Gropius consisted in the creation of the disciplines of graphic and industrial design, since previously these two professions did not exist as they are known today. They were born from the founding of the Bauhaus school.

In addition, the great legacy that Walter Gropius left - in terms of the ideology and episteme of his time - can be seen reflected in his greatest work: the Bauhaus school building, which syncretizes and encompasses all the ideals of the author and its aesthetic proposal.

Gropius introduced the use of new materials, as well as smooth facades and sharp lines. One of the most relevant details of the architect's style is that his aesthetic proposal dispenses with unnecessary ornaments, emphasizing the spirit of modern architecture, since everything must have functionality.

Today, Gropius's works are considered a world heritage site. In addition, his legacy is indisputable, since this German architect and designer changed the paradigms of what architecture and art should be.

Gropius focused on the practicality of forms and their relationship with the social environment. In fact, one of its fundamental principles was: "Form follows function."

References

1. Cobeta, I (1985). The Bauhaus, Fordism and the complete work of Gropius. Retrieved on September 22, 2018 from the Digital Archive of the Polytechnic University of Marid: oa.upm.es
2. Gropius, W (2014). The Theater of the Bauhaus. Retrieved on September 22, 2018 from Project Muse: muse.jhu.edu
3. Gropius, W (1923). The Theory and Organization of the Bauhaus. Retrieved on September 22, 2018 from ShabdaChitra: shabdachitra.com
4. Pevsner, N (2000). Pioneers Of Modern Design. Retrieved on September 22, 2018 from Google Books: books.google.es
5. Gropius, W (1965). The New Architecture and the Bauhaus. Retrieved on September 22, 2018 from Google Books: books.google.es