why architecture?

Architecture (Latin „architectura“, from the Greek „arkitekton“, ὰρχιτεκτονική – arkhitektonike, from ὰρχι chief or leader and Τεκτονική builder or carpenter) is the art and science of designing buildings and other physical structures.

This is a place to ask questions and think critically about architecture. It is obvious to most what architecture "is" but here we'll consider what architecture "does" and how it effects the larger cultural landscape.

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Thursday, March 4, 2010

Chicago: A brief history (Part One)

After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, it made sense to rebuild the city in something other than wood. But what would it look like? Chicago wanted to grow upward and outward and distinguish itself.



Beginning in the early 1880s, steel-frame construction technology gave way to lighter, taller more glassy exteriors. In fact, architect and engineer, William LeBaron Jenney was the first to utilize this idea and as a result the skyscraper was born in Chicago.

Home Insurance Building, 1884 (12 stories)




Soon after this, Louis Sullivan, another visionary in Chicago, would discard historical precedent and design structures that emphasized verticality even more. Since most of his work was in Chicago, this new form of architecture came to be known as the first "Chicago School".

The Gage Building, 1895 (12 stories)



Carson Pirie Scott, 1899 (12 stories)




Also based in Chicago, visionaries like Daniel Burnham took these new structural ideas and produced even lighter, more elegant towers a little taller.

The Reliance Building (1890)



Likewise, so did Chicago's Holabird and Root

The Marquette (1895)
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