LOUIS SULLIVAN (1856 - 1924)

Early Modern Architecture

Dhruv Patel
Hemal Panchal
Louis Sullivan Wanted to define an architectural style unique to America. 
He was Called “Father Of Skyscrapers” & “Father Of Modern
Architecture”.
He returned to Chicago in 1875 and got a Job as a Draftsman in the
Office of Joseph S. Johnson & John Edelman
In 1879 he Joined Dankmar Adler and they Started Working as a Firm of
Adler & Sullivan.
Louis Sullivan Coined the Phrase “ Form Ever Follows Function” which
Shortened to “Form Follows Function “.
An Influential Architect and Critic of the Chicago School.
A Mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright and an Inspiration to the Chicago Group
of Architect called Prairie School.
Louis Sullivan is regarded as “an influential prototype of the modern office
architecture” 
Sullivan designed the skyscrapers on the tripartite system that featured a
three-tiered design which included a large, street-level floor for entryways
as well as commercial use, along with smaller upper floors, and a
decorative cornice that held the mechanical workings.
Philosophies And Architectural Style

• The Phrase “Form ever Follows Function” , Placed the

demands of practical use above Aesthetics .
• While the Buildings were made of Principal masses ,
he often Punctuated their Plane Surfaces with Art
Nouveau decorations , usually cast in Iron or
Terracotta with organic Forms Like Vines and Ivy And
more Geometrical Designs.
• Another Signature element was Semi-Circular Arch,
He Used Arches Throughout his Career , In Shaping
entrances , Framing windows , and as Interior design.
• One of the Distinguishing features of the Chicago
School is the use of steel – Frame Buildings with
masonry Cladding, Allowing large glass window Areas.
• This style was to promote the use of steel-frame
construction with terra cotta masonry cladding having
large plate-glass windows along with limited exterior
ornamentation
Architectural Works

National Farmers
Auditorium Guaranty Building
Bank 1906-1908
Building 1886-1890 1894-1895
C
V
Wainwright Carson , Pirie , Merchants
Building 1890-1891 Scott & Co. National Bank
1890-1891 1913-1914
 Auditorium Building (1886-1890)

• The Auditorium Building is One Of the best known

design of Adler And Sullivan.
• Chicago Auditorium Association in 1886 wanted to
develop worlds Largest , Grandest , expensive
Theatre , for High culture working class of Chicago.
• The Building included an office Block and a First
class Hotel to Subsidize the Cost of Theatre.
• The Building is a uniform 10 Stories building , It was
designed As a Tall Structure with Load bearing
outer walls ,and the rhythm of repetitive window
patterns .
• The building had separate entrances for theater,
office building and hotel.
•  There were 136 offices and a 400-room hotel, In
the center of the building was a 4,300 seat
auditorium .
GUARANTY BUILDING (1894,1895)
Location : New York, United States
Construction year : 1895 – 1896
Height : 46m
Floors : 13 floors

• Sullivan’s employed semi-circular arch throughout his career

in shaping entrance ,in framing windows, or as interior design.
• Visibly divided into three “zones” of design:
1. A plain wide-windowed base for the ground level
shops;
2. The main office block with vertical ribbons of masonry
rising unimpeded across nine upper floors to emphasize
the building height;
3. An ornamented cornice perforated by round windows
at the roof level;
 Sullivan center (1899 - 1903)
Location : Chicago , Illinois , United States
Construction year : 1899 – 1903
Height : 63.13m
Floors : 12 floors
Category : Retail store
• The Sullivan center also known as the Carson ,
Pirie , Scott and co. Building is a State Street landmark
recognized by its richly ornamented, cast-iron entrance
at the corner of the Madison street.
• Instead of emphasizing the beehive of identical
windows in the Carson Pirie Scott Building, Sullivan
highlighted instead the lower street level section and
entryway to draw shoppers into the stores.
• This was done in a number of ways. The windows
on the ground floor, displaying the store's products, are
much larger than those above.
• The windows has three parts- the central panel is large
and fixed with two small double-hung windows which
Were called Chicago Windows.
• The three doors of the main entrance were placed
within a rounded bay on the corner of the site, so
that they are visible from all directions approaching the
building.
• The corner entryway and the entire base section are
differentiated from the spare upper stories by a unified
system of extremely ornate decoration.
• The upper parts of the Building story of the white terra-
cotta facade contains identical windows.
National Farmers Bank (1906,1908)
Location : Owatonna, Minnesota
Construction year : 1907 – 1908
Category : Bank
Large Arch in Main Facade
Thank You