How did architecture, design and art transform from an aesthetic enterprise to serving the needs of the masses? And how did a single individual–and an outstanding representative of "radical modernism"—pursue his personal convictions in an age marked by war and totalitarianism in the name of the collective? These questions frame this comprehensive life story of Hannes Meyer, who as an upstart architect in Basel, director of the Bauhaus in Germany, urban planner near the China-Russian border, and designer of social housing and hospitals in Mexico, fought to affirm the rights of all to a life of comfort and human dignity while seeking to maintain his own identity in the process.

"Georg Leidenberger, for the first time brings to life this steadfast, difficult and polemical architect, portraying him in the whole breadth of his existence."— Prof. Magdalena Droste, author of Bauhaus 1919-1933. Reform and Avantgarde