Louis Henry Sullivan a pioneer ofmodernAmerican architecture and the “father of skyscrapers.”
![路易斯·沙利文, circa 1895: A black and white portrait of a stern-looking man with a nice suit on.](http://www.lukedreyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Louis-Sullivan-Portrait.jpg)
Image source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Sullivan#/media/File:Louis_Sullivan_circa_1895.jpg
About His Life
Louis Henry Sullivan was born on September 3, 1856, in Boston, Massachusetts. Sullivan worked in the Chicago office of William Le Baron Jenny who was the designer of the first steel skyscraper. Then, he moved toDankmar Adler‘s office, where he became chief draftsman and, in 1881, became a member of the studio. Moreover, Adler & Sullivan quickly made significant contributions to Chicago architecture. Their 14-year-old association built over 100 buildings. Additionally, Sullivan began his practice in 1895. He died on April 14, 1924, in Chicago, Illinois, but published his autobiography shortly before his death.
![The Guaranty Building, in the USA, Buffalo.](http://www.lukedreyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/The-Guaranty-Building.jpg)
Image source:https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/282499e9-5280-4c8f-8d87-9ec506ab0de2byReading Tom
His Major Works
In collaboration withDankmar Adler(1879–95) he created the following:
- Auditorium Building(1887–89) in Chicago
- Guaranty Building(1894–95; nowPrudential Building) in Buffalo, New York
- Wainwright Building(1890–91) in St. Louis, Missouri
![From the Prudential Guaranty Building, the top of a column with ornate, engraved designs.](http://www.lukedreyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/From-the-Prudential-Guaranty-Building.jpg)
Image source:https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/c484d53e-c26d-4550-974f-4f25b91c8e65byamerune
![Wainwright Building, St. Louis, Missouri (1890–91).](http://www.lukedreyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Wainwright-Building-2.jpg)
Image source:https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/21f80bf6-feb6-4b3a-916a-c85853ea6d27byMatthew Black
In his independent practice, Sullivan designed the following:
- Schlesinger & Mayer department store(1898–1904, now theSullivan Center) in Chicago, occupied by Carson Pirie Scott & Co from 1904 to 2007
![Schlesinger & Mayer department store, Sullivan, 1898–1904, Chicago.](http://www.lukedreyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Schlesinger-Mayer-department-store.jpg)
Image source:https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/0a2f52d4-6d4b-489e-8d35-90899c580159byTeemu008
![Schlesinger and Mayer Department Store, Cast-iron ornament, Sullivan, 1903.](http://www.lukedreyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Cast-iron-ornament-.jpg)
Image source:https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/ac8d6502-5994-41fd-95e6-c251bb31fd33
Particularly noteworthy projects undertaken in his last years were seven banks in some small Midwestern towns, such as theNational Farmers’ BankinOwatonna,明尼苏达州,andMerchants’ National BankinGrinnell,Iowa(1914).
After 1895, Sullivan’s work uses expressiveplasticdecor and ornaments. His 12-storyBayard (now Condict) building in New York was adorned with stucco terracotta and cast iron decorations.
World’s Columbian ExpositionTransportation Building(1893)
![Ornamentation on the World's Fair Transportation Building, Chicago, 1893–94.](http://www.lukedreyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Ornamentation-on-the-Worlds-Fair-Transportation-Building.jpg)
Image source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Sullivan#/media/File:LSTransportation2.jpg
In 1890, Sullivan was one of ten American architects selected to build the main building for the White City, the 1893 World Columbia Exposition in Chicago. Sullivan’s huge Transport Building stood out as the only building with a colorful facade in the entire White City. But while exhibition director Daniel Burnham criticized Sullivan’s project, it was the only building to gain widespread recognition outside America, receiving three medals from the French Union Centrale des Arts Decoratifs the following year.
![Central Railway Station Viaducts c.1906-Sullivan's Transportation Building.](http://www.lukedreyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Central-Railway-Station-Viaducts.jpg)
Image source:https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/b7e2465d-23da-4dd2-b795-c6de2bc5d28cbySydney Heritage
Features of the Style
Sullivan’s bold geometric lines and towering skyscrapers stood out among the architecture of his contemporaries, who emulated older, established styles. Additionally, Sullivan drew on his experience at M.I.T. and in Europe and took an innovative, 0riginal approach to build design. Applying his “form follows function,” principle, Sullivan developed amodernstyle that emphasized the use of new building technologies and materials, as well as verticality and openness.
![Closeup of the cartouche above the entry to the Merchants' National Bank designed by Louis Sullivan, one of his 'jewel box' banks.](http://www.lukedreyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Closeup-of-the-cartouche-above-the-entry-to-the-Merchants-National-Bank-.jpg)
Image source:https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/20bef92a-e3e7-4418-8d9c-49796dcb64e4byleewrightonflickr
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