Howlett Residence, Belmont, Massachusetts: Second Floor Plan - Walter Gropius

A precise architectural floor plan for the Howlett Residence, designed by the modernist architect Walter Gropius in 1945.

This architectural drawing depicts the second floor plan for the Howlett Residence, designed by Walter Gropius in the mid-1940s. Gropius, the founder of the Bauhaus, relocated to the United States in the late 1930s, where he continued to apply his principles of functional design and spatial efficiency to residential architecture. The plan illustrates a clear, rational approach to domestic living, prioritising the flow between private quarters and communal areas.

The drawing is rendered in the precise, technical style characteristic of mid-century architectural practice. It displays the layout of bedrooms, a study, and circulation spaces with meticulous attention to scale and dimension. The annotation indicates a scale of one quarter inch to one foot, a standard convention for residential construction documents of the period. The clean lines and lack of superfluous ornamentation reflect the modernist ethos that Gropius championed throughout his career.

As a document of mid-century American residential design, this print offers a view into the methodology of one of the most influential architects of the twentieth century. The Howlett Residence project demonstrates how Gropius adapted European modernist concepts to the specific requirements of suburban American life. The plan reveals a thoughtful arrangement of space, where every partition and opening serves a specific purpose. This technical drawing is an essential piece for those interested in the history of architecture, the development of the International Style, or the practical application of modernist design principles in domestic settings. It provides a clear, unadorned look at the structural logic that defined the work of Gropius during his tenure at Harvard and his private practice in Massachusetts.