ART 303 - HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE AND CULTURE- IV

Module 2
Walter Gropius and The Bauhaus
Revolutionizing Modern Architecture & Design
Founder of the Bauhaus School (1919–1933)

Walter Gropius (1883–1969) – German architect, visionary, educator

Believed in uniting art, craft, and technology
Influenced modernist architecture worldwide

Born in Berlin, Germany

Worked with Peter Behrens (mentor to Mies van der Rohe & Le Corbusier)
Served in WWI before founding Bauhaus
Known for functional, minimalist design
Gropius founded the Bauhaus (1919) in Weimar.
Rejected historical styles → promoted modern, functional design.
Integrated art, craft, and technology.
Focused on simplicity, geometry, and modern materials (glass, steel, concrete).
Encouraged mass production and accessibility in design.
Bauhaus buildings (e.g., Dessau, 1926) became icons of modernism.
Strongly influenced the International Style and 20th-century architecture
 Philosophy

Bauhaus (1919–1933)
Art school in Germany combining crafts and fine arts.
Founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar.
Aim: a “total work of art” uniting all arts, including architecture.
Locations: Weimar (1919–25), Dessau (1925–32), Berlin (1932–33).
Directors: Gropius (1919–28), Hannes Meyer (1928–30), Mies van der Rohe (1930–33).
Closed in 1933 under Nazi pressure.
Legacy: Pioneered modernist design, functionalism, and unity of art and technology
Mies van der Rohe
•Born: 1886, Germany
•Role: Pioneer of modern architecture; last Bauhaus director
•Moved: To the U.S. after Nazi opposition to modernism; led IIT architecture school
•Approach: Defined modern style with steel & glass; famous for “less is more” & “God is in the details”
•Career Start: Apprentice to Peter Behrens (1908–1912), worked with Le Corbusier & Gropius
 Farnsworth House (1951, Illinois)
Seagram Building (1958, New York, with Philip Johnson) – Iconic bronze-glass skyscraper + plaza
Barcelona Pavilion (1929, Spain) – Minimalist pavilion of glass, steel & marble
Tugendhat House (1930, Brno, Czech Republic) – Modernist villa with open plan
SEAGRAM BUILDING (1958)
SEAGRAM BUILDING (1958)

• Mies' first tall office building

• Seagram Building, Park Avenue
• 38-story bronze & dark glass tower
• Set back 100 ft, creating an open plaza
• Plaza with fountains & seating links city to tower
• Horizontal plaza plane flows into lobby
• Lobby’s white ceiling blurs inside & outside
Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM)
Formed in 1928, Switzerland to promote modern architecture.
Founders: Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, and others.
Advocated functionalism, rationalism, and urban planning using
new materials/technologies.
Key documents: Athens Charter (1933) – zoning & transport;
Charter of Habitat (1942) – affordable housing.
Created a global network of modernist architects.
Criticized for being rigid, elitist, and neglecting
cultural/contextual factors
Daniel Burnham and the White City (1893, Chicago)
Daniel Burnham – leading American architect & urban planner.
Chief architect of the World’s Columbian Exposition (1893), Chicago.
The “White City”: grand neoclassical buildings, uniform white façades, wide boulevards, and
landscaped grounds.
Contrasted with chaotic 19th-century Chicago; symbol of order & beauty.
Inspired the City Beautiful Movement → focus on aesthetics, parks, and urban renewal.
Legacy: Led to the Plan of Chicago (1909), shaping modern city planning in the U.S.
Court of Honor and Grand Basin — World's Columbian Exposition
Montauk Building (Chicago, 1882–83)

Designed by Daniel Burnham & John Wellborn Root.

Considered the first “skyscraper” (10 stories, 130 ft).
Early steel-frame construction with deep foundations.
Contained 150 offices, 300 occupants, and elevators.
Marked a turning point in Chicago high-rise architecture.
Demolished in 1965; site now occupied by Chase Tower.
Chicago School / Commercial Style (1880s–1890s)
Originated in Chicago after the Great Fire.
Steel-frame construction with masonry cladding (often terra-cotta).
Large plate-glass windows, minimal ornamentation.
Influenced by neoclassical elements.
Skyscrapers often followed classical column form:
Base – retail, open façades.
Shaft – plain middle stories.
Capital – top floors with cornice/ornament.
The Chicago Building by Holabird &
Roche (1904-1905)
Chicago Window
Three-part window: large fixed center pane + two smaller double-hung side
sashes.
Allowed maximum light and ventilation.
Created a grid pattern on façades.
Often projected outward as bay/oriel windows over streets.
Key feature of the Chicago School skyscrapers.
Home Insurance Building (Chicago,
1884)
Designed by William Le Baron Jenney.
Considered the world’s first skyscraper.
12 stories (55 m), tallest from 1884–1889.
First to use structural steel frame (with cast
& wrought iron).
Marked the beginning of modern high-rise
construction.
Demolished in 1931 after 47 years.
Wainwright Building (1890–91, Missouri)

10-story red brick office building, among the first skyscrapers.

Designed by Dankmar Adler & Louis Sullivan in Palazzo style.
Tripartite composition (base–shaft–attic) like a classical column.
Base: retail with wide glass openings, piers as pillars.
Shaft: offices with grid of identical windows.
Attic: wide frieze, deep cornice with organic terra-cotta ornament.
Significance: Landmark of early modern skyscraper design;
embodies Sullivan’s principle “form follows function.”
 Philosophy

Prairie School Style (Late 19th–early 20th c.)

Originated in the Midwest, USA; inspired by the flat prairie landscape.

Features: horizontal lines, flat/hipped roofs, broad eaves, grouped windows,
open floor plans.
Emphasis on craftsmanship, simplicity, and natural integration.
Response against classical styles of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.
Linked to Frank Lloyd Wright & Louis Sullivan; Wright promoted “organic
architecture.”
Used local materials, aligned with Arts & Crafts Movement.
Examples: Robie House (Chicago), Meyer May House (Michigan).
Robie House (1910)
Frank Lloyd Wright
Robie House (1910) in Chicago, Illinois
ECLECTICISM
Eclecticism:

•Eclectic Style: Blended historic and exotic design influences → highly decorative and unique.
•Asymmetry: Irregular floor plans and exterior forms, creating visual variety.
•Colorful Schemes: Vibrant paint with contrasting trims to highlight details.
•Legacy: Influenced later styles like Arts and Crafts and American Foursquare.
American Queen Anne Style
Architecture
•Asymmetry: Irregular facades, cantilevered front
gables, overhanging eaves.
•Vertical Elements: Towers (round, square,
polygonal), monumental chimneys.
•Porches & Balconies: Wrap-around (often L-
shaped), pedimented, second-story porches.
•Wall Textures: Patterned shingles, terra cotta
tiles, varied surfaces.
•Windows: Oriel and bay windows; painted
balustrades as details.
•Roofs & Setting: Wooden/slate roofs, front
gardens with fences.
MODERNISM
•Timeframe: A philosophical and cultural movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
•Origins: Shaped by industrialization, urban growth, and the trauma of World War I.
•Rejection: Questioned Enlightenment certainty and often rejected traditional religious beliefs.
•Critique of Tradition: Viewed older forms of art, architecture, literature, and social systems as outdated.
•Aim: Sought new ways of expression suited to a rapidly changing industrial and political world.
 Modernist Architecture:

•Rejection of tradition – moved away from Beaux-Arts and Neoclassical styles.

•Innovation – used new materials like reinforced concrete; inspired by natural forms.
•Function over form – exteriors reflected building functions.
•Simplicity – emphasized rational, ornament-free, geometric designs.
•Key work: Fagus Factory (1911–13) by Walter Gropius & Adolf Meyer, a landmark in industrial modernism.
Taliesin, Wisconsin
Frank Lloyd Wright
•Built 1911, Wisconsin – after Wright left Oak Park & his first wife to live with Mamah Borthwick.
•Name: Taliesin = “Shining Brow” (Welsh).
•Three phases: Taliesin I (1911), II (1915–25, fire), III (1925 onward, Wright’s lifelong home).
•Design: Residence + agricultural wing + office wing; rebuilt after multiple fires.
•Major works designed here: Fallingwater, Johnson Wax HQ, Guggenheim Museum.
•Legacy: Housed Wright’s Asian art collection; left to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation (1959).
•Organic design: Low, wide form with window bands, blending with landscape; built using local limestone & plaster
with sienna.
•Estate: Included gardens and orchards as a natural gateway.
•1914 tragedy: Chef Julian Carlton set fire to Taliesin I, killing several, including Mamah Borthwick → deeply shaped
Wright’s life and work.
•Reconstruction: Rebuilt after fires and financial troubles; evolved into a hub of architectural innovation.
•Taliesin Fellowship (1932): Apprenticeship program → later The School of Architecture; trained architects like Paolo
Soleri, Arthur Dyson.
•Legacy: Part of the Wright UNESCO World Heritage Site (2019).
Notre Dame du Haut (1955)
Notre Dame du Haut (1955)
by Le Corbusier
Built in 1955, Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp, France.
• Breaks away from his usual machine aesthetic; strongly site-specific design.
• Positioned on hill crest, revealed only at approach, offering panoramic views.
• Upturned concrete roof appears to float above thick stone walls.
• Asymmetric openings and clerestory windows create dramatic, sacred lighting.
• Built from concrete and stone (remains of WWII-destroyed chapel reused).
• Considered both Expressionist and the first Post-Modern building.
• Roof: double concrete membranes separated by void, supported by struts.
• Interior: white Bourgogne stone, African wood benches, cast iron communion bench.
• Rough roof finish, sprayed mortar, and aluminum cladding ensure durability.
1. main entrance
2. nave
3. main altar
4. grand chapel
5. confessionals
6. evening chapel
7. morning chapel
8. sacristy
9. choir
10. the back choir external space
Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne [CIAM]
•.

• CIAM formed [1928 – Switzerland] to promote modern architecture

• The founders: Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius,
• Aim : promote the tenets of functionalism, rationalism, and urban planning.
• These architects believed that architecture should be responsive to the needs of society, embracing new technologies and materials to
create efficient and aesthetically pleasing structures.

• Declarations [between 1928 and 1959] on Architecture were key documents.

Athens Charter (1933) outlined principles of urban planning that emphasized zoning, functional segregation, and transportation networks.
Charter of Habitat (1942) emphasized the need for affordable and accessible housing for all.
•Global Impact: CIAM spread modernist ideas worldwide.
•Criticism: rigid, ignored cultural context; elitist, excluded diverse voices
Philip Johnson
•Born 1906, Ohio – American architect known for modern & postmodern works.
•Education: Harvard; studied Greek, history, philosophy; traveled Europe exploring classical & Gothic architecture.
•Influences: Met Mies van der Rohe (1928); later supported Gropius, Le Corbusier, Breuer, and Mies in the U.S.
•MoMA Role: Financed & curated first modern architecture exhibition (1932).
•Key Works: Glass House (New Canaan), 550 Madison Avenue (NYC).
•Recognition: First Pritzker Prize (1979).
Glass House
 Glass House [1949] by Philip Johnson

• Inspired by Mies van der Rohe

• Built in 1949 on a 47-acre estate
• One-story design with floor-to-ceiling glass
• Interior is open except for a brick cylinder
• Guest house, art gallery, and sculpture pavilion
on the estate
• Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997
• Blends with the landscape, creating a sense of
endlessness.
 Brick Guest House

•Built 1948–49, New Canaan, Connecticut – Philip Johnson’s personal residence.

•Influenced by Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House; inspired by minimalism, proportion, transparency, reflection.
•Industrial materials: glass and charcoal-painted steel; house hidden behind stone wall.
•Plan: 56×32×10.5 ft; one glass-enclosed space for kitchen, dining, sleeping; central brick cylinder for bathroom.
•Interior includes Bauhaus furniture (Mies designs); part of a larger estate with Brick House, Pavilion, Painting &
Sculpture Galleries.
•Built 1948–49, New Canaan, Connecticut – Philip Johnson’s personal residence.
•Influenced by Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House; inspired by minimalism, proportion, transparency, reflection.
•Industrial materials: glass and charcoal-painted steel; house hidden behind stone wall.
•Plan: 56×32×10.5 ft; one glass-enclosed space for kitchen, dining, sleeping; central brick cylinder for bathroom.
•Interior includes Bauhaus furniture (Mies designs); part of a larger estate with Brick House, Pavilion, Painting &
Sculpture Galleries.
Library Art Gallery
Lake Pavilion Plan Sculpture Gallery
550 Madison Avenue (Sony Tower/ AT&T Building)
•Built 1980–84, Midtown Manhattan – Postmodern skyscraper by Philip Johnson & John Burgee; 647 ft tall, 37 stories.
•Originally AT&T HQ, later Sony HQ (1991), bought by Olayan Group (2016); landmarked in 2018.
•Design features: pink granite façade, large entrance arch with circular oculus, broken pediment roof, energy-efficient granite cladding.
•Public spaces: pedestrian atrium (later plaza), retail shops, enclosed atrium (1990s), and new 550 Madison Garden (2020s).
•Interior: main & sky lobbies, high-ceiling office spaces, annex with garage/retail (since replaced).
Later history: Renovated by Sony (1991) & Olayan Group (2016);
NYC Landmark (2018); atrium redeveloped into 550 Madison Garden (2020s)
Thank You