The Chicago School and the Birth of the Skyscraper

The Fire of 1871 as an Architectural Catalyst

The Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed most of the city. It was a catastrophe—and an opportunity. Chicago was rebuilt anew in the era of the steel frame, the Otis elevator, and a new understanding of the function of a building. The result: the Chicago School and the birth of the skyscraper.

William Le Baron Jenney (“Home Insurance Building”, 1885) — the first building with a steel frame bearing the load instead of the walls. This was a revolution: the wall no longer bears the load, it can be glass. This is the prerequisite for modern glass high-rise construction.

Louis Sullivan is the main theorist of the Chicago School. His formula “form follows function” became the manifesto of functionalism. The skyscraper, according to Sullivan, must openly express its structure: vertical accents, repeating typical floors, ornamentation as decoration rather than false structure.

“Urban Crown”: The Skyscraper as Symbol

New York in the 1920s–30s: a competition of skyscrapers. Chrysler Building (1930)—Art Deco with stainless steel eagles and automotive motifs. Empire State Building (1931)—443 meters, a record for 40 years. This was not just construction—it was a demonstration of corporate and national power.

The skyscraper as an architectural typology created a fundamentally new kind of city: vertical, dense, densitized. This changed lifestyle, transportation, social interaction, and the concept of the “center” of the city.

Michael Sorkin and other critics: skyscrapers create “dead” streets at ground level—huge buildings, closed lobbies, no small shops or cafés. Jane Jacobs (her continuation): skyscrapers destroy the “life of the street”—diversity, randomness, the human scale.

Question for reflection: “Form follows function”—a design principle applied in product design, UX, architecture. When does this principle work flawlessly, and when does it lead to something soulless?