Walter Adolf Gropius (1883 - 1969) was a renowned German-American architect. He studied in Munich and then in Berlin. He left Germany in 1934, living in England for a time before settling in the United States in 1937. He was the director of Bauhaus from 1919 to 1928 and Chair of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design from 1938 to 1952.

While directing the Bauhaus, GropiusŐ fundamental aim was to re-educate the artist to a new role in an industrial democratic society, its primary method was Learning by Doing.

The Gropius House
Lincoln, Massachusetts (1937)

While directing the Bauhaus, Gropius and his students designed the Bauhaus Buildings, which today are still one his most famous works. It was built at a time when the Bauhaus itself had just survived the difficult transition from its early craft-orientated pseudo mystical medieval guild atmosphere to the altogether tougher and more direct confrontation with the demands of industrial production. The buildings themselves, unquestionably GropiusŐ masterpiece, revealed the growing maturity and confidence of the architecture that came to be labeled International Style.

What I like about his style
I enjoy the clean precise lines that make up GropiusŐ designs. He attention to geometric construction is unparalleled. Despite the color (white) choices, they still seem to be a part of the landscape instead of detracting from it. His interior designs repeat this clean line theoy, and allow for a maximum of living space.

What I dislike about his style
The only part of GropiusŐ work I dislike is the white color scheme he seems to prefer for his exteriors. Although they somehow blend into the landscape, the present a multitude of problems when one considers materiel choices, landscaping, and radiation.

How I would use his philosophies today
To use GropiusŐ philosophies today, I would draw from the use of clean geometric shapes in my designs. This would allow for maximum use of interior space as well as giving the exterior that classic Gropius look.