The Invention of the office Skyscraper

Marshall Fields Warehouse Chicago, Illinois, 1885-1887

Henry Hobson Richardson dies on April 27, 1886 at age 47 of Bright's disease.

Tall Buildings

Pre-Civil War context– Mostly buildings of 2-5 stories– Balloon framing dominant for domestic architecture– Monumental buildings of brick or stone– Lack of large private businesses

Post-Civil War context

Increasing use of wrought iron facades

Impetus for taller buildings

Symbolic of “rising” power of corporate businesses

Symbolic of massive business and wealth

Symbolic of integration between business and art/culture

Symbolic of community aspirations and municipal pride

Changing Technology

Need for space

Telephones, telegraphs, electricity

New technological developments– Industrial strength plate glass—John Ford, 1865– Safety elevators- Elisha Otis– Structural system doesn’t require thick exterior walls. Pier

and Spandrel– Fire proofing

Pier and Spandrel Construction

Terra cotta—new uses for an ancient materialTerra cotta is made of clay, water, and previously fired products (grog).

The mixture is forced into a mold, or extruded, dried and fired.

The product can be used without covering, or glazed for a weather-proof surface.

Because of the transportation costs, terra cotta firms were established near the location of suitable clay beds.

A number of firms began in northern Illinois just prior to the fire of 1871.

Northwestern Terra Cotta Co. Founded in Chicago in 1878, this company became a major producer of terra cotta trimmings used by the construction industry.

The Chicago School, 1890-1920

Architects– William Le Baron Jenney (architect & engineer)– Daniel Burnham (architect) and John W. Root (engineer)– Louis Sullivan (architect) and Dankmar Adler (engineer)– William Holabird (engineer) and Martin Roche (architect)

Design Principles

“Form follows function”

Structural rationalism (Base, shaft, and capital)

Individual levels are large open spaces for different uses.

Decorative elements are complex but not proportional.

Construction innovation: Terra cotta panels, “Chicago window”, Projecting eaves

Home Insurance Building Chicago, 1883-85 Wm. Le Baron Jenney

Monadnock Building, Chicago 1884-92, Burnham & Root

Marquette Building, Chicago1893-94, Holabird and Roche

Reliance Building, Chicago 1889-95, Burnham and Root

Reliance Building, terra cotta covers of piers and spandrels

Curtain walls

Chicago Auditorium, 1886-90 Adler and Sullivan

Louis Sullivan’s “Theory of Ornament”

Wainwright ornament

Wainwright Building, St. Louis, Missouri, 1890-91Adler and Sullivan

Light well with skylight

Carson, Pirie, Scott & Company Store, Chicago, 1891-1904

Chicago window

Guaranty Building, Buffalo, NY 1895

Bayard Building, NYC, 1897-99

National Farmer’s Bank Owatonna, Minnesota, 1907-08