In the early to mid-20th century, post-war architects tried to set the vector for the development of society in the direction of social improvement, harmony and prosperity. Walter Gropius combined the ideas of functionalism and Constructivism to achieve this goal in practice (Arnason and Mansfield 403). The purpose of this paper is to explain Walter Gropius’ ideas of the Bauhaus, to discuss the influence of Gropius and Mies van der Rohe in the United States and to define what is the International Style.
The Bauhaus architectural approach appeared in the first half of the 20th century and was developed by Walter Gropius. In the Bauhaus Manifesto, he suggested to “… create the new building of the future, which will embrace architecture and sculpture and painting in one unity and… will rise one day … from the hands of a million workers like the crystal symbol of the new faith”(Arnason and Mansfield 405). This was the ethics that had a wide influence on future architecture styles.
The influence of Gropius and Mies van der Rohe on U.S. architecture is difficult to overestimate. According to Arnason and Mansfield, “after Gropius resigned as director of the Bauhaus in 1928 and moved to America … he worked with Mies van der Rohe … who sympathized with Gropius’ ideas” (421). Both architects influenced the formation of the International Style. Mies van der Rohe refined this style with his designs of skyscrapers, and Gropius with his “craftsmen” approach (Arnason and Mansfield 420-424). They were both committed to functionalism, preferred to use glass, steel and concrete, and open interior spaces.
In conclusion, Bauhaus ethics influenced the future of the International Style, whose main apologists in the US were Gropius and Mies van der Rohe. They were committed to the ideas of functionalism based on the desire to ensure social well-being through architecture. In this way, architects implemented the Bauhaus curriculum in their designs of European and American modern constructions.
Work Cited
Arnason, H. Harvard, and Mansfield, Elizabeth C. History of Modern Art. Pearson, 2015.