Walter Gropius is the most influential 20th century architect. Walter used much geometry in his work, and this is reflected in his proportions and aesthetic. Walter’s unique designs for chairs and tables are still for sale after all of these years.
Over the course of his life he accomplished many architectural feats. He created the Bauhaus School which celebrated artists and industrial manufacture. From the Bauhaus he reformed the way different types of artists viewed each other’s works because many of them had similar methods to producing their work. Upon his arrival in America, Helen Storrow provided him with land to build his house. His work inspired architect and furniture designer Marcel Bruer, and they worked together to build the James Ford house.
Gropius designed many creative and functional aspects to his home. He used curtains instead of doors to reduce the space of a door opening, conserving space in the small house. In his bedroom he used mirrors and glass together to create the appearance of more space and in the living room all the chairs and tables were low to the floor to provide a different view of the room. Throughout the house he used light bulbs with coating on the tip to reduce glare and he also used cork flooring. His house had an overall black and white theme with some red which was a common color theme with the Bauhaus. When building the house his daughter wanted to sleep under the stars and to have her own entrance. He fulfilled her wishes by giving her a room on the top floor what can easily be accessed by a spiraling staircase that is in plain sight from their office. The sleeping under the stars was achieved by giving their daughter a porch off of her room.
During his life, Gropius received works from other great artist which he displayed in his home.
Currently, the house is owned and operated by Historic New England and is used for tours and educational purposes. Visitors need to wear booties so as to not scratch up the floor and preserve the house. Some of the clothes and personal items still remain, and very few of the original items had to be replaced because the home was built to last.
More info. about the Gropius House and Historic New England
More info. about the Gropius House and Historic New England
The Gropious house was a beautiful example of architecture. Every detail of the house was decisively planned out and crafted. It was a privilege being able to step foot inside the house which truly is a work of art. The house was incredibly abnormal. Compared to todays homes its uncommon and when putting into perspective when it was built, (1950's) it has to be respected even more for how groundbreaking the design was. The trip to the Gropious house opened up my mind more about housing architecture. The visit to the Gropious house was a unique, interesting, and fun experience.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a cool house and was made by a genius. As soon as i walked in the house I noticed the cork floors. I thought how Walter Gropius put chrome on the bottom of the light bulbs to make the glare disappear and paint the ceiling a bit pink. The part that I thought was most interesting was how Walter made two separate rooms. One for a bedroom and one for a bathroom and they were both connected. They would leave the windows open all year around in the bedroom so they always get fresh air and would leave the bathroom door shut so it stays warm.
ReplyDeleteThe Gropius house was a beautiful example of how architecture should be. Immediatly when you walk in the door you notice you cant just walk up the stairs infront of you, this is because he turned them around so it would suggest privacy. also I loved his ideas on saving money, like his lightbulbs with chrome painted o the bottom so the light would just reflect off the ceiling. another point would be how he was very big intot the theatrics so he put a curtian around his dinning room and had his made set up the dinner so he could impress his guests when the curtain opened and it was all ready.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the Gropius House. Although it was raining and we couldn't really get a good look of the place from the outside, the inside was beautiful. The way art was constructed in the house was beyond cool. My favorite room in the house would have to be the master bedroom. The way the house was built was so different, but so nice. Everything was ver inexpensive but fashionable in an art sense.
ReplyDeleteTHe Gropius House was decent, personally the tour guide kind of killed it. She dragged out the historical facts of each room way to much. But on a positive note, The structure of the house was awesome. My favorite room would have the be the master bedroom. Where there was a window that split the room in half which made it seem larger. And on the other side half way down the wall was a mirror which made the space brighter and not so closed in. Over all the Gropius house is very interesting you should check it out if you have a chance.
ReplyDelete