Louis Sullivan
1856-1924
Louis Sullivan was an American architect who
pioneered the modern skyscraper design. "father
of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism. "He
was born in 1856 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Sullivan studied architecture at MIT before
apprenticing with prominent Philadelphia
architect Frank Furness. He then worked for
William Le Baron Jenney, known for early iron
and steel framed buildings, in Chicago after the
Great Fire of 1871. In 1879, Sullivan joined Dank
mar Adler’s firm, becoming a full partner by 1883.
The two designed over 100 buildings in the
Chicago area and beyond over their 14-year
partnership, including the landmark Chicago
Auditorium Building.
Form
follows
function
This principle contends that the shape and appearance of any design—be it a
towering skyscraper or a humble household item—should arise naturally from its
intended purpose or function.
Parthenon
WHY ?
Why does an American bank building should has
the influence of the Greek iconic building ?
Is it always necessary to follow an ancient
architecture reference ?
New York stock exchange
• The Sullivan Center, formerly known as
the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company
Building or Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company
Store, is a commercial building in Chicago
• Architect : Louis Sullivan; Burnham, Daniel H., &
Co.
• The building is remarkable for its steel structure,
which is allowed a dramatic increase in window
area, which in turn allowed far more daylight into
the building interiors, and far more display of
merchandise to outside pedestrian traffic.
• This is one of the classical structure of the
Chicago school
Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building 5
The lavish cast iron ornamental work above the rounded tower was also meant to be functional
Sullivan designed the corner entry to be seen from both state and Madison, and that the ornamentation, situated
above the main entrance, would be literally attractive
• The Wainwright Building is a 10-story, 41 m terra
cotta office building at St. Louis, Missouri
• Architects: Dank mar Adler, Louis Sullivan, George
Grant Elmslie
• Architect Frank Lloyd Wright called the Wainwright
Building "the very first human expression of a tall
steel office-building as Architecture."
• One of Sullivan's primary concerns was the
development of an architectural symbolism
consisting of simple geometric, structural forms
and organic ornamentation.
• classical column concept, the building's design
was deliberately modern, featuring none of the
neoclassical style that Sullivan held in contempt.
Wainwright Building
Sullivan used a steel frame and applied his intricate terra cotta ornament in vertical bands to
emphasize the height of the building
8
A proper building grows naturally, logically, and poetically out of all its conditions
Thank you..
