Walter Gropius, Sommerfeld House (1920-22) Commissioned by building contractor Alfred Sommerfeld, the Sommerfeld House (1920-21) was the first product of the cooperation between Gropius’ private architectural practice and the Bauhaus school. Because there was no architecture department at the Weimar Bauhaus – and Gropius rarely taught classes himself – students were brought in for on-the-job training on specific building projects. Using materials taken from a scrapped ship, students and faculty in the school’s cabinetmaking, metal, glass-painting, and weaving workshops were all involved in the house’s interior design.