Bauhaus vs. Jonson Wax administrative building

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Recommended: Analysis of the bauhaus school

Mingchen Cui
Assignment #2
Arch 222
Bauhaus vs. Jonson Wax administrative building

Frank Lloyd Wright and Walter Gropius are widely regarded as the prionneering masters of modern architecture.The Johnson Wax Building and Bauhaus as their symbolic and critical masterpieces shared similar style of form but different idea of interpreting design. Wright’s simplicity approach and Gropius ‘less is more’ idea are seemingly related, but varied by their self preference in most aspects.

Generally, since the aim of Gropius is to reconcile arts and crafts, the Bauhaus is industrial in its aesthetics compressed with steel concrete and glass. Oppositely, Wright favors of nature by focusing organic forms. Therefore, such diffrence of aesthetic from both architect create similar form but different atomosphere of buildings.

Both building have non-traditional shape. Johnson wax building has a very horizontal shape since Wright wants to stress the building belongs to ground. The traditional corners also disappear which has been replaced by round shape to concentrate the fluidness. In contrary, Bauhaus’s asymmetric form provide a good opportunity to fit the different cubic elements in its interlinking system, even though horizontal lines are also being used there, such a feeling of flow can be hardly observed.

Another non-traditional change is the location of the entrance door. Both building require movement to be understood, as pedestrian walking around the continous facades, the door can be founded which is not located at the center or obvious postion. Especially in Johnson Wax Building, the entrance is hiding within the building and you can only access the building by driving car through. Such a smooth transsition from outside to inside high...

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...the tower installed alongside the office building as part of the whole, they have to linked each other so there is no need to leave this entire large building which finally become more self-sufficient and union just like Bauhaus.

Overall, Wright and Gropius have engage different aspects and steps of design. Wright borrow ideas from nature to try to apply it into architecture to gain better result for people comfort or effectiveness. Gropius put the function first and by developing the funtion with environment to meet people’s requirement of comfort and convinence. But they both share a same idea which is ‘simplicity’. From my point of view either simplicity and complex are necessary in design. Even though most time they conflict with each other a lot. I beileve one day they must become a union just like Gropius aim ’Arts and craft will finally reconcile’

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