An appointment at Harvard University in Boston was the main reason for Walter Gropius to leave Europe. In the summer of 1936 the dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Joseph Hudnut, visited the most famous modern architects in Europe: Walter Gropius in London, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Berlin and J.J.P. Oud in Rotterdam. His aim was to find a new staff member for the architecture department of his university. Walter Gropius was chosen. He accepted the offer on the condition that he could continue to work as a freelance architect. His expertise from his practical work was carried over into his teaching. He encouraged his students to learn from and with each other in a competitive fashion.

Under the direction of Walter Gropius, Harvard University became one of the most important educational institutions for modern architects. The hitherto neglected field of regional planning was added to the curriculum. Among the graduates of the years 1938-1952 are the names of numerous significant architects.

After taking up his teaching position there, Gropius, with the help of his students, looked for solutions to the various building problems and the lack of space in Harvard. There was a similar situation at Black Mountain College, for which Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer had submitted a design in 1939 that was never implemented. With this design for the Harvard Graduate Center, Gropius, working together with the Architects Collaborative (TAC), was finally able to realise the construction of a university building in the US.