Gropius House

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Welcome to Gropius House

Overview
Cast of Characters

Introduction

Overview
Cast of Characters

Gropius House

A Modern New England Home

Walter Gropius, founder of the German design school known as the Bauhaus, built his family home soon after he came to the United States to teach architecture at Harvard University in 1937. Modest in scale, the “Lincoln house” was revolutionary in impact. It was visited by hundreds of people the year it was built, and was both celebrated and criticized. Architects, students, and curious passersby knocked on the front door in the hope that they might get a closer look at what Gropius was calling his modern New England home.

Walter Gropius

Walter Gropius (1883-1969) wanted his New England home to fit naturally into his adopted landscape. He incorporated those aspects of New England’s architecture tradition that he found still relevant, like a wood exterior, brick chimney, and fieldstone foundation, yet he chose modern features like ribbon windows and glass block that would give the house a decidedly modern appearance. All elements would have to be commercially available and preferably mass produced. As the house would serve as a calling card for his architectural practice and the first public example of the regional approach to architecture that he championed, this merging of traditional and modern was intended to offer a New England house for a modern age.

Ise Gropius

Ise Gropius (1899 – 1983) was not only Gropius’s wife, but also his partner. She worked out every detail of the house with him, providing perspectives and opinions on all aspect of the function and design. From the beginning of their marriage in 1923, Ise had taken on the role of “Mrs. Bauhaus,” helping to publicize and promote the school, and never expected to take a back seat to Gropius. Throughout their marriage, she was by Gropius’s side. Years later she remarked that she married not only the man, but also the school. After his death in 1969, Ise Gropius became a spokesperson for the Modern Movement and in 1977 arranged to donate the Lincoln house to Historic New England to serve as a teaching tool for future generations.

Ati Gropius

Ati Gropius (1925- 2014) was twelve years old at the time the house was built. In spite of her self-described boredom with the never-ending list of details that her parents discussed each night at dinner, she did have some requests of her own. She asked that her bedroom have a glass ceiling so she could see the stars at night and sand on the floor so she could get out of bed in the morning and feel like she was at the beach. Although these two requests were not granted by her parents, she did get a sunny roof deck accessed from her bedroom and a means of getting in and out without crossing paths with any adults.

Helen Storrow

It was due to Helen Storrow’s (1864 – 1944) philanthropic and independent spirit that Walter and Ise Gropius were able to build their new home. The Gropiuses had been invited to a dinner party at the Storrow mansion shortly after their arrival in the U.S. Prompted by a mutual friend, Mrs. Storrow offered Gropius the chance to design and build a house on her land. She offered him $20,000 and the opportunity to demonstrate his type of architecture. She was not convinced it would be good, but she felt it had to be tried out and was pleased to encourage the ideas of a new arrival to the United States. When the house was completed, the Gropiuses rented it from Mrs. Storrow for 10% of the construction cost. When Mrs. Storrow died in 1944, the Gropiuses purchased the house and land from her estate.

Marcel Breuer

Hungarian-born Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) was a Bauhaus student and later a Bauhaus teacher who followed his mentor to Boston shortly after the Gropiuses arrived in 1937. Gropius arranged an academic appointment at Harvard for Breuer and the two also established a private practice together. Breuer had run the furniture workshop at the Bauhaus but he was also an accomplished architect and a master of sun and shadow. Although the house was designed by Gropius, Breuer likely added some of the more innovative sun screens which appeared on the plans only after he had arrived in the U.S. In 1939, Breuer was also given the opportunity to build a modest house for himself on Helen Storrow’s land just down the hill from Gropius’s house.

The Builders

Gropius chose local builder Casper J. Jenney to construct the house. Jenney was familiar with light framed construction and was recommended to Gropius because he was open to new ideas, which was essential for this type of experimental project. Jenney hired Jack Studley as the principal carpenter. The two men worked closely with Gropius during his afternoon visits to the construction site and discussed changes to the plan as a team, each contributing ideas. Jenney and Studley both expressed great pride in their work on Gropius’s new home. The house was completed on September 21, the day of the Great Hurricane of 1938. The Gropiuses has just moved in and Jenney was finishing some last touches when the storm hit. He ended up staying the night as the first guest in the new house.