The Chicago School of Architecture

By Virginia Garda

At the turn of the twentieth century, Chicago became the center of a transformation of the urban landscape, most notably because of the surge of skyscrapers¹. The architectural movement responsible for such innovation was lead by men who were not native to this city but established their careers in it, and thus they came to be known as the Chicago School². The style that they developed was characterized by an emphasis on both the utilitarian function of buildings and their aesthetic qualities², and continued to be influential for decades throughout the United States¹.

            The ingenuity of this group is especially apparent when their architecture is compared to that of the century preceding it; a series of revivals of older architectonical styles dominated American architecture throughout the nineteenth century², and as a result it was largely derivative and lacked true originality. Meanwhile, technological developments caused a rapid development of new forms of civil engineering. Chief among these was the use of new cast-iron structures to develop arched bridges². It took a new generation of bold architects to amend how architectural innovation was stalling behind engineering and technological inventions.

            Chicago became the ideal gathering place of such a generation because of the combination several factors. Its population had been growing rapidly since the 1850’s, and the Chicago Fire of 1871 ravaged large portions of the city, which lead to a high demand for the development of new buildings.² The price of land also saw a steep increase², and thus architects were obligated to expand vertically instead of horizontally¹. Fortunately, the availability of new technologies such as elevators and the aforementioned cast-iron structures allowed for the rise of multi-storied buildings¹, and eventually that of the early skyscrapers.

            Perhaps the quintessential architectonical work from this period was the Carson Pirie Scott Store, which was designed by Louis Sullivan and D.H. Burnham in 1899³. It’s a steel framed building with twelve stories, and features the wide, three parted windows which came to be known as the Chicago Window³. They were meant to let in a lot of light into the building, as well as showcase the merchandise sold by the store. Its exterior was adorned with terra cotta tiles and bronze decorations, which in addition of being ornamental, were also practical because of their fire-resistant properties².  This balance between form and function showcases how Sullivan and his contemporaries were attempting to meet the needs that modern cities demanded, while continuing to place an importance on the aesthetic qualities of buildings³.

            The struggle that this generation of architects addressed is not unlike that the literary modernists faced a couple of decades later. Both movements were caught in a rapidly-changing world and had to redefine their art forms in order to address these changes. The modernist authors were writing about urbanization and urban masses, while the Chicago School had to create a new form of building in order to solve the problems created by these changes. In addition, while the literary modernists were attempting to define what the United States represented through language, the Chicago School managed to create an aesthetic style that was uniquely American.

            It’s also of interest to talk about the Chicago School in a class about Modernism because they were responsible for creating the urban landscape that creates the setting of many of these literary works. Learning about this architectonical style not only facilitates the visualization of the world these novels were trying to depict, but also elucidates why the setting of these works was important in the first place.

Works Cited

[1] "Architecture: The First Chicago School." Architecture: The First Chicago School. Chicago Historical Society, 2005. Web. 07 Sept. 2016.

[2] Condit, Carl W. The Chicago School of Architecture. Chicago: U of Chicago, 1964. Print.

[3] Siry, Joseph. Carson Pirie Scott: Louis Sullivan and the Chicago Department Store. Chicago: U of Chicago, 1988. Print.