GEORGE WALTER ADOLF GROPI

US

.PI
ONEER MASTER OF MODERN ARCHI
TECTURE. 1.FAGUS FACTORY (
1911-
1913)
.BORN I
N BERLI
N ON 18MAY 1883. 2.BAUHAUS
.WAS A GERMAN ARCHI
TECTAND AN EDUCATOR.
.INFLUENTI AL PROPONENT OF MODERN DESI GN AND FUR THERED 3.GROPI
US HOUSE(
1937-
38)
HI SIDEAS THROUGH BAUHAUS SCHOOLDESI GN.
4.JOSEPHI
NE M.HAGERTY HOUSE 1938
HE WAS TAUGHT BY HI S FATHER WHO ALSO WAS AN ARCHITECTAND
LEARNED THE STUDY OF PROPORTI ONS WITH ACTUAL ARCHITEC- 5.J.
F.KENNEDY FEDERALBUI
LDI
NG :1963-
1966
TURALEXPRESSI ONS BY HI
S UNCLE.
.GROPI US COULD NOTDRAW,AND WAS DEPENDENTON COLLABORA- 6.PAN AM BUI
LDI
NG(
NOW METLI
FE BUI
LDI
NG)1960-
1963
TORS AND PARTNER- INTERPRETERS THROUGHOUT HI S CAREER.IN
SCHOOL HE HI RED AN ASSISTANT TO COMPLETE HI S HOMEWORK 7.WALDENMARK 1939
FOR HIM.

THE FAGUS FACTORY I S A SHOE LAST FACTORY I

N ALFELD ON THE DESI
GNED BY GROPIUS AND HI
S PARTNER MEYER WI
TH CERTAI
N
LEINE I
N GERMANY AND I S AN I MPORTANT EXAMPLE OF EARLY AMOUNTOF PARTICI
PATION FROM STUDENTS.
MODERN ARCHI TECTURE. BAUHAUS,WAS AN ARTSCHOOLIN GERMANY THATCOMBI
NED
1903 HE LEFT SCHOOLAND WENT TO THE TECHNI CALUNI-
VERSI TY I
N MUNICH TO STUDY ARCHI
TECTURE. CONSTRUCTED BETWEEN 1911- 1913,ITWAS WALTER GROPIUS'FIRST CRAFTS AND THE FI
NE ARTS.
INDEPENDENT COMMI SSION.
ALTHOUGH HE STUDI ED ARCHITECTURE IN MUNI CH AND ITOPERATED FROM 1919TO 1933.ATTHATTIME THE GERMAN
BERLIN( 1903-
1907)
,HE RECEIVED NO DEGREE. ITWAS CALLED AN ARTISTIC AND PRACTICALDESIGN BY GROPIUS.
TERM ABOUTTHIS SOUND BAUHAUS LITERALLY "HOUSE OF CON-
IN 1908,GROPI US WORKED UNDER THE RENOWNED AR- ITWAS IN COLLABORATION WI TH ADOLF MEYER. STRUCTION"—WAS UNDERSTOOD AS MEANI NG "SCHOOLOF
CHITECTAND I NDUSTRIALDESIGNER PETER BEHRENS TILL MOST STRI KI
NG THING:SIMPLI CI
TY AND CONFIDENCE OF THE ARCHI
- BUILDI
NG".
1910. TECTURE. THE COMPLEX CONSI
STS OF FI
VE MAI
N ELEMENTS FULLY
IN 1919, GROPI US TRANSFORMED THE GRAND- DUCAL GLAZED 3STOREYED:
SAXON SCHOOL OF ARTS AND CRAFT I NTO THE WORLD FAGUS STRUCTURE WAS ACTUALLY A HYBRI D CON-
FAMOUS BAUHAUS. STRUCTI
ON OF BRI CK COLUMNS, STEEL BEAMS AND “THE BAUHAUS WAS NOT AN
I
NSTITUTION… I T WAS AN I
DEA.”
-
CONCRETE FLOOR SLABS AND STAI
RWAYS. MIES VAN DER ROHE, I TS LAST
DIRECTOR 1953
I
T WAS A STEEL FRAME SUPPORTING THE FLOORS,
GLASS SCREEN EXTERNALWALLS.
PI
LLARS ARE SET BEHIND THE FAÇADE SO THAT I
TS
HIS DESIGN HAS FULL COMMAND OF THE PLANE SURFACE WI
THOUTANY ORNAMENTATI
ON
CURTAI
N CHARACTER I
S FULLY REALI
ZED. TO PRODUCEASEPARATI ON OFEACH OFTHESE
ELEMENTS OFARCHI TECTURE,WHI CH WERE FUNCTIONS FROM OTHERS,ATTHE SAME TIME
TO CONSTITUTE THE I
NTERNATI ONAL GLASS SCREEN WAS USED ALL OVER THE WALLS TO
NOTI SOLATI
NG THEM BUTBRI NGI
NG THEM TO-
MODERN STYLE. HAVE PROPER VI
EW FROM I
NSI
DE.
GETHER INTO EFFI
CIENTINTEGRATION.
HE BELIEVED THAT ALL I
NITIAL TRAINI
NG WALLS ARE NO LONGER SUPPORTERS OF THE BUI
LD-
FOR ARTIST AND CRAFTSMAN SHOULD BE I
NG BUT SI
MPLECURTAIN PROJECTI
NG AGAINST I
NCRE- WORKSHOPS NOTICEABLY MORE I
NDUSTRI
AL,
SAME I.
E. I NTRODUCTION TO FORM, MENTWEATHER. PARTI
CULARLY I
N THEIR WINDOW
COLOUR,NATURE OF MATERI AL. I
TWAS DOMI
NATI
ON OF VOI
DS OVER SOLI
DS. THE SQUARE PEDALLED METAL WI
NDOWS ARE
TYPICAL OF MASS PRODUCED I NDUSTRI
AL
PLANE SURFACES PREDOMI
NATE I
N THI
S FACTORY.
UNITS.
THE GLASS AND WALLS ARE JOI
NED CLEANLY AT THE
SI
MPLE GEOMETRY OFTEN RECTANGULAR. CORNERS WITHOUTTHE INTERVENTI
ON OF PI
ERS.

USE OF MODERN MATERI

ALS LI
KE STEEL,RCC AND GLASS USE OF FLOOR-TO-
CEILI
NG GLASS WI
NDOWS ON STEEL
FRAMES THAT GO AROUND TTHE CORNERS OF THE
SMOOTH SURFACE BUILDI
NGS WI THOUT A VI
SIBLE (
MOST OF THE TIME
PRI
MARY COLOURS WITHOUTANY)STRUCTURALSUPPORT.

LI
NEAR AND HORI
ZONTALELEMENTS THE OTHER UNI
FYI
NG ELEMENTI
S THE USE OF BRI
CK.

GRI
D SYSTEM RESTI
S BUI
LTOFYELLOW BRI
CKS.

I
N THOSE TI
MESTHE USE OF MACHINE WAS ENCOURAGED IN ORDER TO ENHANCE THIS FEELING OF LI
GHTNESS,
GROPIUS AND MEYERUSED A SERI ES OF OPTICAL RE- THE MAIN BUILDING,RECTANGULAR I
N SHAPE,WAS
BECAUSE OF THE PHASE OF I
NDUSTRI
ALI
SATION. DESIGNED AS A STRUCTURALFRAMEWORK WI THOUT
FINEMENTS LI
KE GREATER HORIZONTALTHAN VERTICAL PILLARS I
N THE CORNERS,WI TH A FRONT METAL
HE REALI
ZED THE I
NTERDEPENDENCE OF MACHI
NE AND ELEMENTS ON THE WI NDOWS, LONGER WI NDOWS ON GRID CUTBY GLASS COVERS,ONE OFTHE FIRSTEX-
COLOURS: WHITE, GRAY, ARCHI
TECTURE. THE CORNERS AND TALLER WI NDOWS ON THE LAST AMPLES OF CURTAIN WALL. AESTHETI
CALLY BAUHAUS WAS AN ADVANCED
BEIGE OR BLACK
FLOOR. BUILDI
NG BUT TECHNOLOGICALLY-PROBABLY
BECAUSE OF THE LIMI
TED FUNDS, IT WAS
,
SOMEWAY BEHI ND THE CONTEMPORARY
WORKS.
"THE ULTI
MATE AIM OF ALL ARTI
STIC ACTIVI
TY IS BUILDING! BAUHAUS I
S ENCLOSED BY GLASS CURTAI
NS.
THE ARTIST IS A HEI GHTENED MANI FESTATI
ON OF THE
THE CURTAI
N GLASS WALLI
NG WAS FI
RSTUSED
CRAFTSMAN...LETUS TOGETHER CREATE THE NEW BUI LDI
NG
OF THE FUTURE WHICH WILL BE ALL I
N ONE:ARCHI TECTURE I
N FAGUS FACTORY -
1911AND THEN USED WI
TH
AND SCULPTURE AND PAI NTING. " -
WALTER GROPI US
CERTAI
N REFI
NEMENT.
THE WHOLE CUBE SEEMS LI
KE TO I
MMENSE
HORI
ZONTAL PLAI
NS FLOATI
NG ON THE
GROUND.

"ARCHITECTURE BEGI
NS WHERE THE
ENGINEERING ENDS"-WALTER GROPIUS