Chicago School of Architecture

Chicago's rapid growth, from its founding as an outpost on the banks of Lake Michigan through the 1920s, has been a chief source of invention, innovation, and inspiration to many architects. The construction methods have been often admired, emulated, and copied. Perhaps the most influential style of construction was the technique of design known as the Chicago school (or style) of architecture. This particular style centered on the skyscraper but spread further into the development of housing as well.

The Chicago school is, at its core, centered on the skyscraper. The first building commonly accepted as a modern skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building on LaSalle Street, erected in 1885 and designed by architect William Le Baron Jenney. While Jenney's style of design was considered by some to be ornamentally a mix of European and American styles, the core concept was based on the principles established by wooden balloonframe construction. As its skeleton, steel frames were used to construct the wall and floor frames and were covered by glass and masonry exteriors, which gave support to the outer frame as well as light to the interior. In addition, steel girders were driven into the ground dozens of feet to give additional support to the metal frame. One French architect, who visited Chicago during the Columbian Exposition, marveled that unlike most American architecture, which seemed entirely utilitarian in nature, the skyscraper took on a certain elegance of its own. Often the buildings appeared as though they were boxes stacked on one another. As many would not see the upper levels, minimal design embellishment was used above the third floor, and it consisted mostly of cornice or windowframe work. On the main floor, however, the designs were ornate.

Chicago owed its great design boom to tragedy. The Great Fire of 1871 obliterated all of the downtown area. While the fire caused substantial property damage and was a tragedy in suffering, others, steeped in the “can do” attitude of Chicago's boosters, saw opportunity. Architects flocked to Chicago in the 1870s as a tabula rasa presented itself. The city had a chance to rebuild itself with the latest in design techniques and materials. The new boom in construction also was fueled by the natural boundaries of the downtown Chicago area. It is hemmed in to the north and west by the Chicago River, to the south by the terminals of several rail lines, and to the east by Lake Michigan. Given the relatively small area of land and the prime value of the real estate, there was only one effective way to continue building: up. Hence, the need for better technological advances in building, better materials (such as Bessemer processed steel), and more audacious designs that could [Page 139]both incorporate the needs of a major city and give it a stylistic flair.

While Jenney started the concept of the Chicago school, it was the designs of Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan that truly set the standard for many of the Chicago school buildings. Sullivan, whose axiom “form follows function” was a defining part of the Chicago school, was responsible for the Auditorium Building, which embraced the new style of embellishment when needed yet was simple when form dictated. This design method allowed costs to be limited, while ornate features could be seen by those on the ground. Sullivan's later design work was exemplified by the Carson Pirie Scott departmentstore building, located in the heart of Chicago's Loop area. The Carson store featured large windows that not only allowed light into the building but also allowed people to look into the interior, creating an enticement to enter. Above the windows was wroughtiron cornice work that gave a distinct look to the building yet was relatively lighter and less expensive than the usual masonry.

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