The Deutsche Werkbund presented its ideas and goals in its first major exhibition in Cologne in 1914. Around 50 model buildings were erected on a large site on the Rhine to introduce visitors to modern design. The overall impression was one of simplified neoclassicism. Hans Poelzig was initially commissioned to design the “factory”, but he withdrew. The structure had already been used for a construction trade fair in Leipzig in 1913, but Gropius and Meyer were still able to design the exterior. The complex consisted of a separate office building and the actual factory, which were connected by a courtyard with covered side sections. On the side of the complex stood the glass pavilion of the Deutzer Gasmotorenfabrik, also designed by Gropius. The symmetry and expressive use of brick and glass refer to the turbine factory of Behrens, in whose office Gropius was an assistant and supervisor from 1907 to 1910. On the other hand, it was clear that Gropius had studied the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, which was first published in Germany in 1910. This work influenced countless young architects, especially through its cubic structure, use of different materials and sensitively executed divisions. The office building was exemplary.
The two pylon-like extensions with a circular glass section at the top and an overhanging roof are clearly inspired by structures such as Wright’s Robie House. The new machine aesthetic can be seen in the glass sections of the spiral staircases in the front façade, which extend across the entire floor of the interior façade. Whereas the impression created by the Fagus Factory was subtle but ultimately more radical, Gropius emphasised the monumental representation much more emphatically here. Gropius’s important innovative conception of space lies in the expression of the separate parts: entrance, circulation, rows of windows. An elevator provided access to the roof terrace, a roof garden with space for dancing.
