Bauhaus Architecture

Love Central European architecture? At Home's blog is introducing articles about architectural styles commonly found in Central and Eastern Europe. Today's entry focuses on Bauhaus style, one of the first modernist styles that originated in Europe. Read on for details and some lovely Bauhaus photos.



The legendary Bauhaus School began in 1919 in Germany. A collapsing economy brought about by World War I engendered a need for functional buildings without extra detailing. The founder, Walter Gropius, a German architect, designed industrial buildings and factories that displayed modernist principles and his own concern with providing healthy conditions for the working class. His publication, "The Development of Industrial Buildings" heavily influenced other European modernists. Gropius was appointed master of the Grand-Ducal Saxon School of Arts in Weimar in 1919 which he transformed into the Bauhaus school.

Budapest is full of variations of Bauhaus

The school attracted a large number of European faculty and students including many Hungarians. It flourished until 1933 when Gropius escaped Nazi Germany for Britain. Three years later, he moved to the United States. 

In 1937, Walter Gropius built his Bauhaus home in Lincoln, Massachusetts, 

now called the Gropius House

Bauhaus architecture is characterized by cubed and flat shapes, modern design, functionality and the use of industrial materials such as metal tubing, glass and other machine-made products. Bauhaus homes are cubic with large windows and smooth facades and the most common colors are white, gray, beige and black. The use of sliding doors, both inside out and, allows one to alter the layout of a room.

Recently sold in Budapest: industrial design mixed with bright colors in this new Bauhaus kitchen

Industrialism and Cubes in Bratislava

Bauhaus in Bratislava

Gropius' Bauhaus style had a significant effect on modernism in Europe, and its influence extended beyond architecture to art, design and decor. In the U.S., he taught at the Harvard Graduate School of design along with Hungarian Bauhaus protégé, Mercel Breuer.

Budapest

After World War II, when Budapest took on the task of rebuilding itself, this style began to appear, with other Hungarian artists and architectets incorporating the Bauhaus style into their works. Hungarian designers like László Moholy-Nagy and Andor Weininger made a lasting contribution to buildings, furniture and art worldwide.

To see Bauhaus properties like the ones in this article, visit www.athome-network.com or contact our agencies:

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Gropius House photo by Juhan Sonin