Chicago School (architecture)

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The Chicago school (meaning school of thought ) is an architectural style expression that in Chicago was created in the late 19th century and the first high-rise buildings , then English skyscraper = skyscraper called, has spawned (today the term skyscraper is a much higher building than it was then) and used early steel frame construction in the construction of office buildings and factories. Its aesthetics are in line with classical modernism in Europe.

In the fire of Chicago in October 1871, large parts of the city, which was then mainly made of wood, were destroyed. After the prerequisites for a new high-rise architecture had been developed in the previous years (fire-protected steel frame construction , improved foundation options and the safety elevator ), the architects in Chicago were given the opportunity to use this on a broad front.

A member of the Chicago School, the architect Louis Sullivan divides an office tower into three areas. Shops and the access to the following office floors are located on the ground floor. The top floor is partially used for building services. Depending on the use, it divides the facade into three areas like a classic column: base, shaft and capital.

Large shop window areas on the ground floor were typical of the Chicago school, made possible by the load-bearing iron skeleton and a facade design in the office area with large, row-like windows interrupted by smooth, functional stone pillars without ornaments. The top floor (building services floor) was often designed as an attic .

In Chicago and New York City in particular, higher and higher buildings were erected in ever faster succession, so that the streets became increasingly dark. For this reason, the architect Ernest Flagg suggested in 1898 that only parts of the building with a limited height should be allowed directly on the street. In New York this proposal was included in the building code as a zoning resolution in 1916 and subsequently led to high-rise buildings rising like a staircase from the street.

Most important architects

Wainwright Building St. Louis

Most important buildings (selection)

literature

Web links

Commons : Chicago School  - collection of pictures, videos, and audio files