The Network Around Walter Gropius in Britain, 1934-37

Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius emigrated from Nazi Germany to Britain in 1934. This seminar investigates the role of those aiding his re-establishment. The promotion of Ise Gropius is considered, her fluency in English making up for her husband’s initial weakness. She was supported by the critic Philip Morton Shand, who laboured to appeal to British audiences while translating Gropius’s book, The New Architecture and the Bauhaus. Comparison with the original German manuscript reveals drastic revisions to domesticate alien ideas. The buildings Gropius produced in Britain demonstrate the architectural outcome of this domestication. His design of Impington Village College with Maxwell Fry, an attempt to engage with indigenous formal and sociological trends.

Adapted in both writing and architecture, Gropius was spared the intolerances affecting other foreign architects, particularly Jewish émigrés. Amid debates around British architectural identity, Gropius was falsely depicted as a temporary visitor sent by the German state: an inspirational exponent of nationalism. Based on archival research, this seminar considers how Britons co-opted Gropius to their cause, boosting his profile in Anglophone media, enabling his move to the United States in 1937, and encouraging his enduring dominance in histories.

Dr Alborz Dianat is a researcher at University College Dublin and Executive Editor of Architectural History. His book, Walter Gropius in Britain: Emigration and Collaborations, is scheduled to be published by Routledge.

- this event is free to attend but advance registration is required.

Please note that registration for this session will close 24 hours in advance and a meeting link will be distributed on the morning of the session.