“Bauhaus” is a German expression meaning “house for building”. Following Germany’s defeat in World War I, architect Walter Gropius was appointed to head a new department that would help rebuild the country.The institution, known as “the Bauhaus”, rejected “bourgeois” details to architecture such as eaves, decorative details and cornices, opting to use classical architectural principles in their purest form.
Bauhaus properties generally feature flat roofs, smooth facades, and cubic shapes. They use almost exclusively glass, concrete and steel in their construction. Colors are white, gray, beige and/or black. Their floor plans are very functional.
The Bauhaus was disbanded when Hitler and the Nazis rose to power; Gropius and his fellow Bauhaus leaders immigrated to the United States and continued their building. Their influence can be seen in American Mid-Century Modern and today’s contemporary homes.
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