Last week, I had a play date with my friend, Teague. Usually our play dates include a cemetery sighting, but thunderstorms were predicted for the afternoon. We were hanging out in Teague's sun room when she asked, "So, do you want to go to the Gropius House?"
"You mean like the Bauhaus?"
"Yeah, Gropius built his home in Lincoln, Massachusetts. It's one of the properties of Historic New England and I have a membership."
So off we went.
Gropius House is on the National Historic Landmark for Walter Gropius' was one of the most influential architects of the 20th. century. Gropius was the founder of the German design school known as Bauhaus.
In the mid-1930s with tensions building in Germany, Gropius accepted a position to teach architecture at Harvard University. He was allowed to leave Germany with his possessions, but his bank accounts and assets were frozen.
Helen Storrow, a philanthropist, (and if you're from Boston, Storrow Drive was named for her husband, James) heard that Gropius wanted to build a home in the country. She offered to lease him 5 acres of land from her property in Lincoln, Massachusetts which he could select the site he wanted. Construction of the house started in 1938 and Gropius, his wife, Ise, and daughter, Ati (12 years old at the time) moved into the house in 1939.
The house has sleek, clean lines. Utilizes native materials and sits in harmony with the land its build on. It was Gropius' interpretation of a typical New England colonial home with a modern twist. which included building materials such as glass blocks, cork flooring.
What's astonishing is this house is 81 years old and it looks very modern in style.
A flagstone walkway leads to the main entrance of the house
The front entrance leads into a foyer. The innovative glass blocks provide privacy, but also allow light and the view of the front yard.
At the back of the foyer, the circular stairwell to the second floor with a view of the coat closet. It was designed to be open so that the color and texture of the clothing could be seen.
The color palette of the house is neutral with white/off-white, and grey with pops of color from artwork, textiles like wall coverings, bedspreads, towels
From the foyer, a peek into Gropius' office and a look into the living room beyond.
The cork floor. Acoustic wall covering and the cork floor make the house very quiet. Guests have to wear paper booties to protect the flooring.
The double desk was designed by Marcel Breuer. Gropius wanted to share the office space with his wife, Ise. Her space is on the left and his on the right. A large window overlooks the front lawn.
View from the living room. Gropius was innovative with passive solar, placing the house in such a way to take advantage of the sunlight for lighting and heating. A special system of heating ducts to prevent the large, plate glass windows from fogging or condensation was installed. Those are the vents behind the radio antenna.
The fireplace. Gropius was friends with many artists of his day. Many when they came to visit, brought artwork as a gift. Some of the guests included Alexander Calder, Joan Miro, Henry Moore and Frank Lloyd Wright
More furniture designed by Breuer.
I liked the telephone and the old telephone number: Clearwater 9-8098
From the living room into the small, intimate dining room.
Since I took too many pictures for one post, my drink reference is the coffee cups on top of the dishwasher in clean up side of the pantry.
Opposite the clean up side is the serving side. The house is efficient. Lots of built-ins with clean lines. The cabinets he selected came from a medical supply catalog. A place for everything and everything in its place.
The galley style kitchen.
Besides teaching, Gropius also had an architectural business. In the corner of his office, he had a separate entrance for clients so they wouldn't have to go through the house.
Next week, we'll visit the second floor of the house.
Drop by hosts,
Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.
