This powerpoint covers the beginnings of skyscraper construction from a technical and aesthetic point of view.

1. ARCH 416
Spring ‘15
Class 12 Building Chicago

2. agenda 3.4.15
Chicago School commercial architecture (secondary structures)
new materials in 19th century architecture
cast iron
plate glass
steel
old sources in Italian palazzo architecture
challenges are both technical and aesthetic
William LeBaron Jenney's response to the challenges
tertiary structures
Jenney's parks
World's Columbian Exposition

3. Greenhouse Architecture
Iron and steel had their beginnings in the construction of
greenhouses to protect exotic plants from Britain's
colonies.
Colonial specimens brought back to Britain required
structures that could recreate the humid heat of their
native environments.

4. Joseph Paxton, The Great Conservatory (The Great Stove), at Chatsworth

5. Great Conservatory (1840)
Huge building that took four years to construct.
28,000 square feet of enclosed space.
Largest glass building in England before Paxton’s Crystal
Palace in London, in 1851.

6. interior of The Great Stove at Chatsworth

7. Climate Control
Eight underground boilers fuelled by coal which arrived by
underground rail wagons.
Boilers fed a 7 miles of 6-inch hot water pipes.
The boiler fumes escaped through flues laid along the
ground to a chimney up in Stand Wood, well out of sight of
the garden.

8. First World War [1914-18]
Coal shortages meant conservatories across the UK went
unheated and many plants died.
Because of the expense of restoring the now semi-derelict
building and bearing in mind the huge cost of maintaining
and heating it, the Great Conservatory was demolished in
1920.

9. Joseph Paxton (1801 – 1865)
Head gardener for the 6th Duke of Devonshire at
Chatsworth House
By 1850 he had become a preeminent figure in British
horticulture and did freelance park designs that were
influential.
At Chatsworth, Paxton had the opportunity to build many
green houses
developed techniques for modular construction,
using combinations of standard-sized sheets of glass,
laminated wood, and prefabricated cast iron.

10. Crystal Palace (1851)
The Brief:
March 1850 the organizing committee invited submissions:
• temporary,
• as cheap as possible, and
• economical to build within the short time remaining before
the Exhibition opening, which had already been scheduled
for 1 May 1851.

11. Paxton's initial sketch
for the project

12. Crystal Palace (1851)
submission was budgeted at a remarkably low £85,800 -
by comparison, 28% of the estimated cost of a competing
design,
this was only about 2-1/2 times more than the Great Stove
at Chatsworth, but would cover roughly twenty-five times
the ground area at 77,000 square feet
The bid of Fox, Henderson and Co was accepted. Fewer
than eight months to finalize plans, manufacture the parts
and erect the building in time for 1 May 1851. He was
even able to alter the design shortly before building
began, adding a high, barrel-vaulted transept across the
centre of the building, at 90 degrees to the main gallery.

17. how? build modular
design shape and size based on the size of glass panes
made by Chance Brothers of Birmingham
10 inches wide by 49 inches long—largest available at the
time
Building was scaled to those dimensions; almost the whole
outer surface was glazed using millions of identical panes
(time and cost reduction)

18. The 3,600 glass panels simulated and then molded by industrial
robots working from a 3-D model hosted on the web.

20. Gustave Eiffel (1832 – 1923)
Born in Dijon, France in 1832.
Interested in construction at an early age, he attended the
École Polytechnique and later the École Centrale des Arts et
Manufactures (College of Art and Manufacturing) in Paris,
graduating in 1855.
After graduation, Eiffel specialized in metal construction,
most notably bridges.

21. Eiffel Tower (1889)
Begun in 1887 for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris.
12,000 different components and 2,500,000 rivets, all
designed with wind pressure in mind. This project sparked
Eiffel's interest in aerodynamics. He built a lab at its based
and used the structure for several experiments and built
the first aerodynamic laboratory at its base.
Later he built a new lab in a different location, which
included the first wind tunnel ever built. He went on to
write several books on aerodynamics, most notably
Resistance of the Air and Aviation, which the Wright
Brothers read.
Detailed study of meteorology at end of his life.

22. Eiffel Tower, Paris (1889)
1010 ft, tallest structure
in the world at the time
Remains the largest
iron construction in the
world
material economy

23. Statue of Liberty, New York
1879 Statue of Liberty's
initial internal engineer,
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc,
unexpectedly died, Eiffel
was hired
Created a new support
system for the statue that
would rely on a skeletal
structure instead of weight
to support the copper skin.
He and his team built the
statue from the ground up
and then dismantled it for
its journey to New York
Harbor.

25. Why build up?
1. Compressed area of Chicago's downtown—only half a
square mile—was one factor
2. Bessemer process makes steel financially viable,
producing new structure and foundation techniques
3. development of hydraulic elevators, and
4. careful attention to fireproofing

26. 1. Downtown Chicago has a small land area with naturally defined limits.

27. 2. Bessemer process uses iron as raw material, produces steel
which is stronger and lighter than iron. Steel can now be mass produced,
whereas previously its use was limited by cost.

28. 3. Development of elevator technology

29. American Terra Cotta
Corporation
Founded in 1881, fabricated
architectural terra cotta for
more than 8,000 buildings
throughout the US and
Canada. Closed in 1966.
The illustration is from the
company newsletter
"Common Clay."
(December 1920)
Consumers Building, 1912-13
Jenney, Mundie and Jensen

30. secondary structures
banking/finance
insurance
office space
Are there prototypes for this?
Large urban structures that are not specifically related to
city administration or religious use?

32. Palazzo Pitti
c. 1450
architect: Filippo
Brunelleschi
3 floors, only five
windows on each floor
purchased in 1550 by
Eleonora da Toledo
widened and changed,
in 1560 by Bartolomeo
Ammannati and again at
beginning of 17th c.

33. Palazzo Pitti, c. 1450 (here with later additions)

34. Palazzo Rucellai
1446-1451
Leon Battista Alberti
arches, pilasters and
entablature signal
Roman antecedents

35. Palazzo Rucellai, completed 1451

37. Palazzo Medici
1444 Cosimo de Medici commissions Michelozzo to build a
palace
Clearly delineated and rusticated floors and a huge cornice
crowning the roofline, the palace stands out for the arched
windows arranged along its front and the partially closed
loggia on the corner of the building. Two asymmetrical doors
led to the typical fifteenth century courtyard, built following
models of Brunelleschi and decorated with graffiti, originally
opened on to a typically Renaissance garden.
By 1460 the palace was complete (it was also the residence
of Lorenzo the Magnificent).

38. Palazzo Medici, c. 1460

40. Palazzo Strozzi, begun 1489, finished 1538, confiscated by the Medici in
1538, returned to the family 30 years later, Benedetto da Maiano was the architect

41. two questions
one is technical—how to build using steel
the other is aesthetic—what should it look like?

42. Home Insurance Building
Architect: William Le Baron Jenney
Year: 1885 as a 10 story building
Addition: two floors were added in 1890.
Demolished: 1931 to permit construction of the LaSalle
National Bank Building (aka Field Building).
Often cited as the first skyscraper because it used steel
framing (in combination with load bearing masonry) to
produce a more efficient (more usable space) and
economical (cheaper to construct) building.

43. building as advertisement
for the wealth and solidity
of the business

45. William Lebaron JENNEY
The Fair Store, 1891

46. William LeBaron JENNEY, Fair Building, rendering of steel skeleton, 1891

47. William LeBaron JENNEY
Fair Building
rendering of column to beam joints
general construction view
1891

48. William Le Baron Jenney
First Leiter Building
1897, demolished 1972
Chicago, Illinois

49. William LeBaron JENNEY, Leiter Building II, 1891

50. cast iron staircase, lobby, Leiter Building II

51. detail of cast iron staircase, interior Leiter Building II

52. Second Leiter, detail of fenestration

53. Second Leiter, detail with pilasters and stylized dentil molding

54. detail of stylized capital, Second Leiter

55. William LeBaron JENNEY
Manhattan Building
1891

56. view of front entrance, west facade with rusticated granite blocks

57. Manhattan Building
east facade

58. William Le Baron JENNEY
Ludington Building
1891-1892
Renovated 1920, A.S. Coffen

60. tertiary structures
elaborations of culture:
theaters
opera house
concert halls
art museums
parks
mania for exhibitions in the 19th c.

61. Chicago Parks
The west park system of Chicago was established in 1869.
Douglas, Garfield, and Humboldt parks and their connecting
boulevards were laid out by architect William LeBaron
Jenney in 1871.
At Garfield, originally known as Central Park, Jenney’s plan
was built-out slowly over the next 3 decades:
• east lagoon,
• suspension bridge
• small conservatory
• Victorian bandstand
• horse racing track

62. William LeBaron JENNEY, Garfield Park Suspension Bridge

63. William LeBaron JENNEY, Humboldt Park, 1870-1906

64. William LeBaron JENNEY, Humboldt Park, 1870-1906

65. World's Columbian Exposition
The first world's fair, London's Crystal Palace Exhibition of
1851, was a celebration of industrial and colonial power.
In US 1876 Centennial in Philadelphia was not a
commercial success. Celebration planned for the 400th
anniversary of Christopher Columbus's landing in
America.
Intense lobbying: New York City, Washington, D.C., St.
Louis, and Chicago (this is when Chicago got the name of
"that windy city" from the editor of the New York Sun).
Philip Armour and Gustavus Swift were among the
backers.
Dedication ceremonies held on October 21, 1892, but the
fairgrounds were not opened to the public until May 1,

66. Dedication ceremony
October 21, 1892

67. Planning the Fair
Downtown commercial interests favored a central location,
but struggles over property rights and traffic congestion
forced a move to Jackson Park, a marshy bog seven
miles south of the Loop.
Daniel H. Burnha named the exposition's director of
works, and George R. Davis, director-general.
Both drew inspiration from earlier fairs, especially the
1889 Paris Universal Exposition with its famed Eiffel
Tower. How would Chicago make a distinctive mark?

68. assembling the A-list
Architecture and sculpture would be to the Chicago fair
what engineering had been to the Paris exposition. John
W. Root died suddenly in 1891, Burnham went on alone,
hiring:
Frederick Law Olmsted for landscape design
Sculpture:
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Frederick MacMonnies
Daniel Chester French.

69. MacMonnies, The Triumph of Columbia

70. architects
Administration, Richard Morris Hunt;
Agriculture, by Charles McKim, William Mead, and Stanford
White;
Electricity, by Henry Van Brunt and Frank Howe;
Horticulture, by William L. Jenney and William B. Mundie;
Fisheries, by Henry Ives Cobb;
Machinery Hall, by Robert Peabody and John Stearns;
Manufactures and Liberal Arts, by George B. Post;
Mines and Mining, by Solon Beman;
Transportation, by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan.

71. The "White City"
With the exception the Transportation Building, all had a
uniform cornice height and were covered in a mixture of
hemp fiber and plaster, giving them a chalky white
appearance.
High-minded, Beaux-Arts portion of the fair on the outside,
these housed exhibits for various trades and
manufactures in large warehouse-like spaces.

74. Olmsted's
plan for the
fairgrounds

84. Childe Hassam, Horticulture Building, 1893, oil on canvas, 18 1/2 x 26 1/4 in.

86. Charles B. Atwood
Palace of the Fine Arts, 1893

87. Palace of Fine Arts

89. Palace of Fine Arts, interior view

90. Relocated and rebuilt in stone, Museum of Science and Industry

91. Administration in the center, Electricity to the right, Machinery to the left
lit by electric light

92. Merchant Tailors, Fisheries & Manufactures buildings

93. watercolor painting, Electricity Building

94. Thomas Edison
Tower of Light
1893

95. west entrance, Manufactures Building

96. Agriculture Building

97. Agriculture Building, interior

98. Palace of Mechanic Arts

99. interior
Machinery Hall

100. Louis Sullivan
Transportation Building

101. Louis Sullivan, "Golden Door" of the Transportation Building

102. interior, Mines and Mining Building

104. detail of Administration Building

105. California Building

110. Bertha Palmer
organizer of the Board of Lady Managers

119. Model kitchen
Woman's Buildings

123. The Reason Why
Columbia has bidden the civilized world to join with her in
celebrating the four-hundredth anniversary of the discovery
of America, and the invitation has been accepted. At Jackson
Park are displayed exhibits of her natural resources, and her
progress in the arts and sciences, but that which would best
illustrate her moral grandeur has been ignored.

124. The exhibit of the progress made by a race in 25 years of
freedom as against 250 years of slavery, would have been
the greatest tribute to the greatness and progressiveness of
American institutions which could have been shown the
world. The colored people of this great Republic number
eight millions – more than one-tenth the whole population of
the United States. They were among the earliest settlers of
this continent, landing at Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 in a
slave ship, before the Puritans, who landed at Plymouth in
1620. They have contributed a large share to American
prosperity and civilization. The labor of one-half of this
country has always been, and is still being done by them.
The first crédit this country had in its commerce with foreign
nations was created by productions resulting from their labor.
The wealth created by their industry has afforded to the white
people of this country the leisure essential to their great
progress in education, art, science, industry and invention.

125. Those visitors to the World's Columbian Exposition who
know these facts, especially foreigners will naturally ask:
Why are not the colored people, who constitute so large an
element of the American population, and who have
contributed so large a share to American greatness, more
visibly present and better represented in this World's
Exposition? Why are they not taking part in this glorious
celebration of the four-hundredth anniversary of the
discovery of their country? Are they so dull and stupid as to
feel no interest in this great event? It is to answer these
questions and supply as far as possible our lack of
representation at the Exposition that the Afro-American has
published this volume.

126. exhibit in the Woman's Building

128. The exhibits
Davis and his team of directors had to select millions of
exhibits. Smithsonian Institution's G. Brown Goode
conceptualized the fair as a veritable encyclopedia of
civilization.
Idea borrowed from Paris Fair of 1889 which included
anthropological displays from French colonies around the
world.

129. The Midway directed by Harvard's Frederic Ward Putnam,
who had already been chosen to organize an
Anthropology Building at the fair. Putnam envisioned the
Midway as a living outdoor museum of “primitive”
humanity.
The attractions on the Midway, however, were commercial
ventures organized by entrepreneurs who obtained
concessions through the Ways and Means Committee of
the World's Columbian Commission. By opening day, the
Midway boasted an African village and a massive Streets
of Cairo concession along with other ethnological shows.

155. using the Kodak on the Midway

156. stereoscope viewer and souvenir cards