walter gropius

In 1910 Gropius established his own practice and turned his attention to problems of mass produced housing and equipmwnt in 1911, with his gifted partner Adolf Meyer (1881-1929), he designed the fagus factory at Alfield, which is often seen as the first building to introduce the vocabulary of what was to be known as the International Style.Gropius became an active member of the Deutsche Werkbund, and he and Meyer made another radical statement in building a model factory and office builing for the Werkbund exibition in 1914. The experience of war brought a new politicisation, together with a new expressionism, to Gropius's theoretical work, and he became a member of a number of left wing artists organisations.

In 1919 he founded and was appointed director of the bauhaus, a position he held until 1928. From 1928 to 1934 Gropius had a private practice in Berlin, but the rise to power of the Nazi party in Germany caused him to move to London, where he worked in partnership with E. Maxwell Fry. Together they designed the influential Impington Village College near Cambridge 91936). In 11937 he left Britain for the more congenial clibes of Harvard, where he found The Architects Collaborative (T.A.C.). He died a greatly respected architectural figure.