WORKS OF LOUIS SULLIVAN
LOUIS SULLIVAN
Louis Sullivan Known as Chicago's "Father of
Skyscrapers," (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924)
Foreshadowed modernism with his famous phrase “form follows
function”.
Sullivan was an architectural prodigy (with exceptional
abilities) even as a young man, graduating high school and
beginning his studies at MIT when he was 16.
After just a year of study he dropped out of MIT, and by the
time he was just 24 he had joined with Dankmar Adler as a full
partner of Adler and Sullivan.
LOUIS SULLIVAN
Together, Adler and Sullivan designed nearly two hundred
residential, commercial, religious, and mixed-use buildings,
primarily in the Midwest.
Adler and Sullivan were highly regarded not only for their
robustly modern and iconoclastic architecture—which
illustrated Sullivan’s dictum “form follows function”—but for
Sullivan’s complex and organic ornament.
His attention to detail, use of ornamentation on the emerging
tall buildings made him one of the most influential architects of
the modernist period.
LOUIS SULLIVAN
Though he is known for his beautiful use of ornament, his true
innovation came in the way he adapted previous ornamental
styles to the newly-emerging tall buildings of the late 19th
century.
Using it to emphasize a building's verticality.
It is this principle that led to his famous tenet of “Form follows
function”.
For these innovations in building tall, Sullivan is often credited
as being a part of the first "Chicago School" of architecture,
which employed steel framed buildings clad in ornamental
masonry.
Among the buildings for which Sullivan is known are
the Wainwright Building in St Louis, Missouri, the Guaranty
Building in Buffalo, New York and the Carson Pirie Scott
Building in Chicago.
LOUIS SULLIVAN
Their best-known buildings include the Auditorium Building in
Chicago (1886-1890);
the Wainwright building in Saint Louis, Missouri (1886-1890);
the Schiller Building (1891)
and the Stock Exchange (1893-1894) buildings, both in
Chicago;
and the Guaranty building in Buffalo, New York (1894-1895).
It was also during this time that Sullivan became
the leibermeister (teacher-disciple relationship) of Frank Lloyd
Wright, who worked for Adler and Sullivan from 1888 to
1893.
THE WAINWRIGHT BUILDING
The Wainwright Building is a 10-story, 41 m (135 ft) terra
cotta office building.
The wainwright building designed by Adler and Sullivan is
regarded as “an influential prototype of the modern office
architecture” by the National Register of Historic Places.
Architect Frank Lloyd Wright called the Wainwright
Building “the very first human expression of a tall steel office-
building as Architecture.”
In May 2013, it was listed by an episode of the PBS series as
one of “10 Buildings That Changed America” because it
was “the first skyscraper that truly looked the part.”
THE WAINWRIGHT BUILDING
Wainwright building is a prime example of Sullivan’s Organic
ornamentation.
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 WAINWRIGHT BUILDING
THE WAINWRIGHT BUILDING
THE GUARANTY BUILDING
The Guaranty Building, formerly called the Prudential Building, is an
early skyscraper in Buffalo, New York.
Sullivan’s design for the building was based on his belief that “form
follows function”.
It was completed in 1896 and was designed by Louis Sullivan and
Dankmar Adler.
He and Adler divided the building into four zones.
The basement was the mechanical and utility area.
The next zone was the ground-floor zone which was the public area
for street-facing shops, public entrances, and lobbies.
The third zone was the office floors with identical office cells
clustered around the central elevator shafts.
THE GUARANTY BUILDING
The final zone was the terminating zone, consisting of
elevator equipment, utilities, and a few offices.
Ornamentation is one of the most defining
characteristics of Guaranty.
The Guaranty Building’s striking terra cotta facade is
adorned with gorgeous, intricate details.
Sullivan sought to connect the building to the natural
world by creating ornamentation inspired by the
spreading branches of a tree at the top of the building.
Flowers, seed pods, and writhing green ironwork
decorate the lower portions of the structure.
THE GUARANTY BUILDING
THE GUARANTY BUILDING
THE GUARANTY BUILDING
THE AUDITORIUM BUILDING
The Auditorium Building reflects strongly on the
phrase ‘When business and the arts collide, beautiful
architecture can emerge.’
The Auditorium designed along the lines of the Art
Nouveau movement by Adler and Sullivan sets an
example of how civic amenities and art can be
combined in a simple yet outstanding style.
Like all Sullivan’s buildings, this too is adorned with
organic ornamentation.
In this project, Sullivan emphasized both massing
and the rhythm of repetitive window patterns, by
using load-bearing stone walls of various textures
and colors.
THE AUDITORIUM BUILDING
THE AUDITORIUM BUILDING
CARSON, PIRIE, SCOTT AND COMPANY
BUILDING
The building’s signature features are marked by Sullivan’s
organic ornament, whose design was inspired by plants.
The bottom floors are clad in dark green cast iron, softened by
elaborate foliated patterns.
The building is remarkable for its steel-framed structure, which
allowed a dramatic increase in window area created by bay-
wide windows, which in turn allowed for the greatest amount
of daylight into the building interiors.
The design was the first use of what became known as the
Chicago window.
CARSON, PIRIE, SCOTT AND COMPANY
BUILDING
VAN ALLEN BUILDING
The Iowa Architectural Foundation provides this concise description
for the Van Allen Building.
The exterior has brick spandrels and piers over the structural steel
skeletal frame.
Terra cotta is used for horizontal accent banding and for three
slender, vertically applied mullion medallions on the facade running
through three stories,
from ornate corbels at the second-floor level to huge outbursts of
vivid green terra cotta foliage in the attic.
These decorative accents are not only visually stunning, but they also
create an optical illusion that the building is taller than its modest
four stories.
The final decoration is paired with blue-and-white tiles in an Art
Nouveau style.
VAN ALLEN BUILDING
VAN ALLEN BUILDING
VAN ALLEN BUILDING
HOME BUILDING ASSOCIATION BANK
The Home Building Association Bank is a historic building
designed by noted Chicago architect Louis Sullivan.
For this project, the architect was given a narrow lot
but made the building larger by making it two stories
high.
The color scheme chosen here deviates from his normal
red-brown brick tapestry surface.
Instead, the building is covered with grey-green terra
cotta slabs that are edged with typical border designs.
The ornamentation included a winged lion.
HOME BUILDING ASSOCIATION BANK
HOME BUILDING ASSOCIATION BANK
THE FARMERS AND MERCHANTS
UNION BANK
The beautifully ornamented bank, known as the Farmers &
Merchants Union Bank, would be the last of eight small
community banks Louis Sullivan designed.
These eight banks would later become known as
Sullivan’s ‘Jewel Boxes.’
The exterior of this tall single-story structure is finished in
tapestry brick with marble and terra cotta trim.
The main facade is two bays wide, with the building
entrance in the right bay.
Above these bays is an elaborately carved tall marble
lintel, above which a half-round stained-glass window is
framed with a stone garland.
THE FARMERS AND MERCHANTS
UNION BANK
HOLY TRINITY ORTHODOX
CATHEDRAL
Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral one of only two churches designed
by Louis Sullivan.
The church resembles something picked out of a small town in Russia.
Based on the Russian Provincial style, the church consists of an
octagonal dome, a bell tower cantered over the front entrance, roof
peaks surmounted by the distinctive three-barred Russian cross.
Abstract decorative designs were carved and painted in the
woodwork, betraying the influence of the Art Nouveau and Arts and
Crafts movements.
Interpreting traditional styles through a contemporary lens allowed
Sullivan to create what he hoped would be considered one of the
most unique and poetic buildings in the country.
HOLY TRINITY ORTHODOX
CATHEDRAL
HOLY TRINITY ORTHODOX
CATHEDRAL
CARRIE ELIZA GETTY TOMB
The Getty Tomb has been said to be the most significant piece
of architecture in Graceland cemetery and the beginning of
Sullivan’s involvement in the architectural style known as the
Chicago School.
The Getty Tomb marks the maturity of Sullivan’s architectural
style and the beginning of modern architecture in America.
CARRIE ELIZA GETTY TOMB
ANN HALSTED HOUSE
Ann Halsted house is the oldest surviving
residence designed by Dankmar Adler and
Louis Sullivan.
The brick house is designed in the Queen Anne
style, which can be seen in its pointed bay
windows and the detailed brickwork on the
cornices and chimneys on the sides of the
house.
Sullivan’s influence on the home’s exterior can
mainly be seen in the dormers at the front and
back and in the pediments on the sides.
ANN HALSTED HOUSE
ANN HALSTED HOUSE
