Architectural designer Isabel Strauss has designed a public bathroom for the grounds of German-American architect Walter Gropius‘s self-designed home in Massachusetts, USA, chosen from hundreds of submissions.
Strauss designed the winning submission for the contest initiated by preservation organisation Historic New England with her design called One Bathroom After Another, which mirrors the footprint of an existing garage on the site.
This sits at the end of the drive that leads from the road to the house in Lincoln, which was designed in 1938 by Gropius, founder of the radical architecture school the Bauhaus, for his family after they fled Nazi-controlled Germany.
Strauss’s design was informed heavily by both the concepts taught by Gropius at the Bauhaus and by the site.
“I wanted the design to start with what’s already here and I drew inspiration from the existing house, landscape, and the Bauhaus tradition – rather than imposing a completely new aesthetic,” Strauss told Dezeen.
“By echoing the volume of the existing garage and carefully orienting the new building, the design remains clearly distinct, while still participating in the site’s established relationships.”
“More broadly, I was interested in expressing an architecture that is functional and materially grounded, yet quietly expressive – one that supports the visitor experience of Gropius House without competing with it.”
Project aligned with “the spirit of the Bauhaus”
Her bathroom will have a simple quadrilateral format with strategically placed transome windows and skylights to provide natural light while maintaining privacy. The entrance will face away from the road to provide further privacy, and an extremely thin slab roof will cover it.
It will be clad in fieldstone, used in the foundation of the adjacent house as well as in much of the local architecture vernacular – with a twist.
“It felt like a way to root the project in its context rather than introducing something entirely new,” said Strauss.
“At the same time, I wanted to treat that material through a contemporary lens, using dry mortar fieldstone as cladding rather than structure. That balance of familiarity and reinterpretation felt aligned with the spirit of the Bauhaus: using common materials in inventive ways to create something that feels both of its time and as though it could have always been here.”
Inside, the bathroom will have two single-use toilet rooms, accessed from two different gaps in the facade where it faces the forest. Shared sinks and an antechamber will be hidden behind a stone-clad wall between the entrances.
The nearby former garage is a visitors centre, which will be opened up inside and filled with Bauhaus furniture.
The bathroom design was meant to be monumental and interesting as seen from the house and to pay respect to the historic building, which entered the care of Historic New England in 1979. It has been a landmark property since 2000, but lacked proper facilities, leading to the competition.
“Uniquely sensitive” response to site
More than 280 submissions from 40 countries were received, according to Historic New England.
Out of all the designs, Strauss’s sense of “restraint” made it stand out to the jury, which was composed of architects, professors, curators and more.
“What really stood out was its restraint – it’s a beautiful design that feels deeply respectful of both the existing structures and the intrinsically New England landscape,” Historic New England president and CEO Vin Cipolla told Dezeen.
“It’s a uniquely sensitive, even poetic response to the site and the project’s constraints, and enhances the visitor experience while allowing Gropius House to remain the clear focal point.”
Other shortlisted submissions included designs by American studios Payette and Auyon Bachar, as well as a group from Poland and Tehran-based architect Mohsen Laei.
Construction will begin in the coming years, depending on incoming funding.
Strauss is an assistant professor of architecture at Smith College and has previously worked with SOM and MASS Design Group.
Other fun instances of architectural toilets include a public restroom in southeast London by Studio Weave and a translucent restroom in the hills of Spain for sightseeing on the john.
Images by Isabel Strauss, courtesy of Historic New England.
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