Louis Sullivan: Father of Skyscrapers
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KhiZra ShahZadLouis Sullivan: Father of Skyscrapers
Uploaded by
KhiZra ShahZadLouis H.
Sullivan
Louis Henry Sullivan born was born in
Boston, Massachusetts on September 3, 1856
was an American architect. He is called the
“father of sky scrapers "and the “father of
modernism”. Sullivan was an influential
architect and critic of the Chicago School. He
was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an
inspiration to the Chicago group of architects.
He is one of the recognized trinity of
American architecture.
Early Life
He studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology for one year. He then worked as a draughtsman
for Furness and Hewitt in Philadelphia and for William Le Baron
Jenney in Chicago. In July 1874 Sullivan travelled to Europe where
he studied in the Vaudremer studio at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in
Paris. He returned to Chicago a year later. In 1883 Sullivan
became a full partner with Dankmar Adler. They remained
together until 1895 when Adler retired. Sullivan was usually
viewed as the designer being backed by Adler's engineering skills.
High-rise Buildings
In the 19th century, weight of a multistory building had to be
supported by the strength of its walls. The taller the building, the
more strain this placed on the lower sections of the building; due
to engineering limits to the weight such "load-bearing" walls
could sustain, large designs meant massively thick walls on the
ground floors, and limits on the building's height.
The development of cheap, versatile steel in the second half of
the 19th century changed these rules.
Due to urbanization the society called for larger buildings, it was
then when sky scrapers became popular
America was rapidly growing socially and economically they
produced steel that gave more architectural opportunities for
designing sky scrapers.
The Father Of Sky Scrappers
Sullivan has been called the father of modernism and the father
of skyscrapers. Although there were others that had created
skyscraper before him, he defined the style in architecture which
expresses the ‘verticality’ of high rise buildings. His architecture
was defined by beautiful modular ornamentation on simplistic
building forms, striking a perfect balance in art nouveau and
modernism. After all, the best architecture is the one that can
walk the line between art and function. Sullivan gave the world
the beginnings of modernism and his legacy continues with
every architect that designs to optimizes for efficiency in
construction and aesthetics in high rise buildings.
Architectural Theory
Sullivan's designs generally involved a simple geometric form
decorated with ornamentation based on organic symbolism. As
an organizer and formal theorist on aesthetics, he propounded
an architecture that exhibited the spirit of the time and needs of
the people. Considered one of the most influential forces in the
Chicago School, his philosophy that form should always follow
function went beyond functional and structural expressions.
Sullivan attributed to the idea of the book “ De Achitectura” that
the building must be solid, useful, beautiful.
“Form follows function”
The ever so famous quote used by all modernist architects “form follows
function” actually comes from Sullivan’s original quote “form ever follows
function”. The underlying idea behind this philosophy is “efficiency”.
Efficiency in materials, space planning and ornamentation provides a way
to minimize the cost of construction and increase the profit margin. The
idea of efficiency suddenly became central to the high rise architecture
because of modular construction that greatly supports repetition. All of
the new ideas in efficiency were shown in Sullivan’s first masterpiece- The
Wainwright building in St. Louis.
Balancing money, aesthetics, supply-demand & innovation
Sullivan's Design
Instead of imitating historic styles, he created original forms and
details. Older architectural styles were designed for buildings
that were wide, but Sullivan was able to create aesthetic unity in
buildings that were tall. Sullivan's designs often used masonry
walls with terra cotta designs. Intertwining vines and leaves
combined with crisp geometric shapes. This Sullivanesque style
was imitated by other architects, and his later work formed the
foundation for the ideas of his student, Frank Lloyd Wright. Louis
Sullivan believed that the exterior of an office building should
reflect its interior structure and its interior functions. Ornament,
where it was used, must be derived from Nature, instead of from
classical architecture of the past. The work of Louis Sullivan is
often associated with the Art Nouveau movement in
architecture.
Famous buildings
Auditorium Building , Chicago, Illinois, 1886 to 1890.
Babson House , Riverside, Illinois, 1907.
Bradley House , Madison, Wisconsin, 1909 to 1910.
National Farmers Bank, Owatonna, Minnesota, 1907 to 1908.
Pilgrim Baptist Church, Chicago, Illinois, 1890 to 1891.
Schlesinger And Meyer Departmental Store, Chicago, Illinois,
1899 to 1904.
St. Paul’s Church , Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1910 to 1914.
Wainwright Building, at St. Louis, Missouri, 1890 to 1891.
Auditorium Building
The auditorium building was designed by Sullivan with the
assistance of Alder. The architecture of the Auditorium Building
is widely considered some of the most influential feats of
Chicago design and engineering.
The Auditorium Building is an immense structure with a
Romanesque facade and organic ornamental design throughout
the interior of the building.
The Auditorium Building was influenced by the “Richardsonian”
Romanesque style. The style of architecture was named for
Henry Hobson Richardson and is a revival style based on French
and Spanish Romanesque.
Exterior:
In 1889, the Auditorium Building was the tallest, largest and
heaviest building in Chicago. The bottom three floors of the
building were made of large rough-cut blocks of dark granite
stone while the remaining seven floors and the tower above are
made of lighter limestone. The Auditorium Theatre's main
entrance, three large stone arches facing south Arches and
shadowed window and door openings cover the entire facade of
the building. Exterior of the building was made with granite and
limestone.
Interior
The design and architectural brilliance of the inside of the
Auditorium Theatre has been marveling audiences since before
the theatre’s opening in 1889.
Elements precisely woven into the architectural design of the
Auditorium Theatre include organic architecture, nature, form
follows function, and Ferdinand Peck’s democratic ideals.
The auditorium had some very remarkable features in its interior
like:
• Air Ventilation System
• Light Bulbs
• Acoustics
• Position Of The Seats
• Shape Of The Space
• Fire Proof Materials Of Walls And Ceiling
Spatial Flexibility
One of the highlights of the Auditorium Theatre is its versatility.
The theater was designed with multiple elements that allowed
the theatre to change size, shape and purpose. It consisted of
• Reducing Curtain
• Temporary Floor
• Movable Ceiling Panels
• Expanding Seating Capacity
• Hydraulic lifts
Wainwright Building
Among the first skyscrapers built in the world, the Wainwright
Building by Louis Sullivan is regarded as an influential prototype
of a modern office architecture.
The building aesthetically exemplifies the theories of Sullivan’s
tall building, with the tripartite composition of base, shaft and
attic, which is based on the structure of the classical column.
With the intention of opening up the corner of the building to
the street, the first floor was dedicated to street-level shops and
the second to be easily accessible public offices. The higher
floors of the Wainwright Building were for offices, and the top
houses water tanks and building machinery.
Windows:
Retail openings required large glazed openings, which elegantly
and delicately sit under the massive building. The windows up
the facades of the Wainwright Building are all inset slightly
behind their surrounding columns and piers, to withhold
Sullivan’s vertical aesthetic.
Ornamentation:
Organic ornamentation and carvings are characteristic of Sullivan
the most prominent being the frieze that rests below the deep
cornice, the surface around the door of the main entrance, and
the spandrels between the windows on different floors. The
celery-leaf foliage varies in design and scale with each story,
embellished in terra cotta which gained popularity during the
time of construction.
Structure:
It’s construction system is based on a steel frame that is clad in
masonry; this is credited for being the first successful utilization
of steel frame construction.
Exterior:
Brown sandstone is the facing for the first two floors, and the
following seven stories are continuous brick piers. Ornate foliage
reliefs are carved in terra cotta panels, decorating each floor. The
tenth story is a frieze of winding leaf scrolls that frame circular
inset windows.
Thank You!
Presentation By:
Zainab Saeed Akkas
Roll no: 1440
