When we think of 20th-century architects, Walter Gropius is probably not that high on our list of names. But without Gropius, we probably couldn’t also name great 20th-century artists like Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky and Käthe Kollwitz.
Gropius, who died 42 years ago today, founded the academy that housed the Bauhaus School in Germany, which pioneered a functional, severely simple architectural style, the originator of chrome and glass. Gropius, who was born in Berlin, fled the Third Reich and eventually settled in Boston, teaching at Harvard and MIT.
In his honor, here are 10 of his most awesome designs:
Gropius House in Massachusetts
Bauhaus Building
U.S. Embassy in Athens
Bauhaus Archives
Gropius House Garage
Fagus Factory
Berlin Hansaviertel
Village College, Impington, England. There are slight curves in all the lines.
MetLife Building, New York
Gropiusstadt
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 6, 2011.