Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
telecommunications—combined with advances in skeletal construction to cre-
ate a new building type, the skyscraper. These buildings were spacious, cost-
effective, efficient, and quickly erected—in short, the perfect architectural
solution for Chicago's growing downtown.
Solving the technical problems of the skyscraper did not resolve how the
building should look. Most solutions relied on historical precedents, including
decoration reminiscent of the Romanesque, with its rounded arches; Gothic,
with its spires, pointy arches, and even buttresses; or beaux arts, with its exu-
berant classical details.
Louis Sullivan
(1865-1924) was the first to formalize a
vision of a tall building based on the parts of a classical column. His theories
inspired the
Chicago school of architecture,
examples of which still fill the
city's downtown.
Features of the Chicago school include:
• A rectangular shape with a flat roof
• Tripartite divisions of the facade similar to that of a classical column (see
illustration) with a
base
(usually of two stories),
shaft
(midsection with a
repetitive window pattern), and
capital
(typically an elaborate, terra-cotta
cornice)
• Exterior expression of the building's interior skeleton through an emphasis
on horizontal and vertical elements
• Large windows made possible by the development of load-bearing interior
skeletons; particularly popular are
Chicago windows
(large windows flanked
by two narrow ones with double-hung sashes)
Capital
Shaft
Base
Reliance Building
Classical Column
Reliance Building and Classical Column
