Walter Gropius died on July 5, 1996, in Boston, Massachusetts when he was 86. He was admitted to hospital on 7 June. After a successful operation June 15, there was the hope of a complete recovery.He described himself as a tough old bird. Sometime after that, his lungs became congested and could not supply enough oxygen to the blood and brain. He died in his sleep, unconscious.
Walter Gropius
The Nazis came to power in Weimar in1925, Gropius was forced to move the school to the city of Dessau which was very industrial at the time. There he designed the Bauhaus School building between1925 and 1926. It is one of his most famous structures.
In 1928, Gropius tired of the pressures of managing the Bauhaus and turned leadership of the school over to another architect, although he stayed on as a member of the staff. But in 1933, Hitler came to power and the Bauhaus was forced to close.
Early Years
Gropius moved to the United States in Feb 1937. He moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to teach at Harvard Graduate School of Design.
In 1938 he was appointed as the Chair of the Department of Architecture, which was the post he held till retirement in 1952. He also sat on the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Visiting committee at the end of his career. He designed the Richards and Child residence halls on the Harvard campus that were built in the 1950s. He became a citizen of the United States in 1944
WWI
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus school. He is regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture. He is the creator of Bauhaus in Weimar (1919). He was also a leading architect of International Style Architecture.He was born in Berlin and was the third child of Walter Adolph Gropius and Manon Auguste Pauline Scharnweber. His uncle was the architect of the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin which is a museum of decorative arts.He went on to marry Ilse Frank, they were together until his death in 1969. They adopted a daughter together, Beate Gropius.
Foundation of the Bauhaus
In 1911, Gropius worked with an architect, Adolf Meyer to design a Fagus-Werk Factory for a shoe company. It was his first building that was noticeable. It was made of steel and glass with large banks of windows so the light could enter the building. He kept it simple by adding no extra decoration to the surface, unlike others. With the clean square surface the factory is considered as the first modern building. His career was interrupted by the outbreak of WW1 in 1914.
Bauhaus Architecture: History and Characteristics
Gropius' career was interrupted by WWI. He was drafted in August 1914 and served as a sergeant major at the Western Front during the war years. He fought on the Western Front for 4 years and was seriously wounded (almost killed). He received the Iron Cross for bravery. After recovery and the end of the war, he joined with other artists in advocating for a new type of design that held no reference to the past.
Nazis
The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1838 is an oil painting by the English artist J. M. W. Turner. HMS Temeraire was one of the last second-rate ships of the line to have played a distinguished role in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. [more]
Post Bauhaus
The Bauhaus school eventually turned into its own modern art movement characterized by its unique approach to architecture and design. The Bauhaus buildings emphasized geometric forms, flat roofs, modern materials (like steel, glass, and concrete), and simplified colour schemes typically limited to white, grey, beige, and black.
Death
The Nazis came to power in Weimar in1925, Gropius was forced to move the school to the city of Dessau which was very industrial at the time. There he designed the Bauhaus School building between1925 and 1926. It is one of his most famous structures.In 1928, Gropius tired of the pressures of managing the Bauhaus and turned leadership of the school over to another architect, although he stayed on as a member of the staff. But in 1933, Hitler came to power and the Bauhaus was forced to close.
The Music Lesson
Gropius moved to the United States in Feb 1937. He moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to teach at Harvard Graduate School of Design. In 1938 he was appointed as the Chair of the Department of Architecture, which was the post he held till retirement in 1952. He also sat on the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Visiting committee at the end of his career. He designed the Richards and Child residence halls on the Harvard campus that were built in the 1950s. He became a citizen of the United States in 1944
