Walter Gropius built his family house in Lincoln, Massachusetts, in 1938 after coming to teach architecture at Harvard. The founder of the Bauhaus brought its concern for simple forms and practical design to a New England setting. The house is modest in scale, but its combination of regional building traditions and industrial materials made it an influential example of modern domestic architecture.
Clapboard, brick and fieldstone appear beside glass block, chrome fittings and acoustical plaster. The entrance canopy guides the approach diagonally, while its glass-block screen admits light and provides shelter. Large windows connect the living spaces with the grounds. A screened porch extends outward to catch breezes without placing a broad shadow across the main rooms.
Furniture made in the Bauhaus workshops, including designs by Marcel Breuer, connects the interior with the family's earlier life in Germany. Walter and Ise Gropius also treated the landscape as part of the home. Trellises, planting and carefully placed trees soften the building's geometry and tie the white exterior to its orchard and meadow surroundings.
Bauhaus Building, Dessau
