Architecture and Commerce-Free-Samples for Students-Myassignment

Question: Carson Pirie Scott Department Store, Louis Sullivan 1904. Answer: Introduction Carson Pirie Scott Department Store was the first building in the nineteenth century that incorporated the word skyscrapers in the city of Chicago1. The fruits of a new prosperity are enjoyed when the dawns of enlightened views break through the dark problems that surround us thereby creating a new freedom for the human kind Carson Pirie Scott Department Store breaks the monotony of crowds of the tall building along State and Madison Streets of Chicago. The structure is constructed of bronze on the ground floor with the facades finished on broad white. Carson Pirie Scott Department Store The building serves to illustrate the relationship between architecture and commerce. Being an architect of the neoclassical times, Sullivan maintained his phrase of form follows function in his design work. He thus resorted to coming up with a building that reflects the social functions that are to be served by the space2. This was after he analyzed the challenges of high-rise commercial architecture. He illustrates his philosophy through describing an ideal tripartite skyscraper in which the first level which is the base level is the ground floor that houses business activities. The ease of public access, open space and light dominate. The second level is accessed by the public through the3 staircase. The next level encompasses offices which have the same design because they serve the same function. As was argued by some of the modernist architects of the time, Sullivan based his design achieving more of functionality than beauty. It is possible to build a beautiful structure but at that time Sullivan went for a structure that is ugly but functional as opposed to just erecting just faade architecture. Sullivan illustrates his philosophy in the design of Carson Pirie Scott Department Store in which he gives emphasis to the lower street level and entrance that attract shoppers into the store. He achieves that by using very large windows on the ground floor used in displaying products, placing the three doors that serve as the entrance within a rounded bay at a corner of the site4. The placement of the doors makes them visible from any direction when one is approaching the building. References Giedion, Sigfried. Space, Time and Architecture: The Growth of a New Tradition. New York: Harvard University Press, 2013. Siry, Joseph. Carson Pirie Scott: Louis Sullivan and the Chicago Department Store. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015.