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Bauhaus

Picture Dictionary of Modern Architecture: Bauhaus
Architect Walter Gropius used Bauhaus ideas when he built his monochrome home in Lincoln, Massachusetts.
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Second Story Terrace at the Gropius House in Lincoln, Massachusetts
Photo © Jackie Craven
The Bauhaus Gropius House in Lincoln, Massachusetts
Bauhaus is a German expression meaning house for building. In 1919, the economy in Germany was collapsing after a crushing war. Architect Walter Gropius was appointed to head a new institution that would help rebuild the country and form a new social order. Called the Bauhaus, the Institution called for a new "rational" social housing for the workers. Bauhaus architects rejected "bourgeois" details such as cornices, eaves, and decorative details. They wanted to use principles of Classical architecture in their most pure form: without ornamentation of any kind.

Bauhaus buildings have flat roofs, smooth facades, and cubic shapes. Colors are white, gray, beige, or black. Floor plans are open and furniture is functional.

The Bauhaus school disbanded when the Nazis rose to power. Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and other Bauhaus leaders migrated to the United States. The term International Style was applied to the American form of Bauhaus architecture.

See examples of Bauhaus and the International Style:

Bauhaus Architects

More Information:

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