WEINWRIGHT
BUILDING
INTRODUCTION
LOCATION WEIN WRIGHT BUILDING
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, USA.
ARCHITECT DANKAR ADLER AND LOUIS SULLIVAN
CONSTRUCTION 1890 – 1891.
BUILDING EARLY SKYSCRAPER, COMMERCIAL
OFFICE TOWER.
TYPE URBAN.
CONTEXT TYPE EARLY MODERN.
STYLE STEEL FRAME, CLAD IN MASONRY.
CONSTRUCTION AN EARLY TALL BUILDING CHICAGO
SYSTEM SCHOOL 10 STOREY WITH ALL STEEL
LOUIS SULLIVAN (1856-1924)
• Louis Henry Sullivan was an American architect, and has
been called the "father of skyscrapers" and "father of
modernism
• Form ever follows function
• He is considered by many as the creator of the modern
skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the
Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright.
• Sullivan is one of "the recognized trinity of American
architecture".
Dankmar Adler (1844– 1900
• After he began his own firm, Adler hired Louis
Sullivan as a draughtsman and designer in 1880;
Sullivan was made a partner in the firm in 1883.
• Adler was not only an architect but also a gifted
civil engineer who, with his partner Louis Sullivan,
designed many buildings including influential
skyscrapers that boldly addressed their steel
skeleton through their exterior design.
HISTORY
• Wein wright building is new modernism building but
since it was Chicago school of architecture, Chicago
School was a school of architects active in Chicago at the
turn of the 20th century. They were among the first to
promote the new technologies of steel-frame
construction in commercial buildings, and developed a
spatial aesthetic which co-evolved with, and then came
to influence, parallel developments in European
Modernism.
• In 1871 a devastating fire destroyed most of downtown
Chicago. This frontier American city, unfettered with
European traditions, now had a blank slate upon which
to rebuild.
• Social and economic factors after the fire, as well as the
technological advances of the time, gave rise here to the
world‘s first skyscrapers. The architects that contributed
to this unprecedented type of commercial building,
including Louis Sullivan, were collectively known as the
Chicago School‘.
. The Weinwright building is also known as Weinwright
state office building. The Weinwright
building is considered to be among the first early sky
scrapers in the world.
• Wainwright Building by Louis Sullivan and
partner Dankmar Adler is regarded as an influential
prototype of a modern office architecture.
• Form following function in wein wright building.
PLANNING • The building is of 10 storey, 41m red
brick office building.
ISOMETRIC VIEW
• The building aesthetically exemplifies
the theories of Sullivan's tall building,
with the tripartite composition of base,
shaft and attic, which is based on the
structure of the classical column.
• "The skyscraper must be tall, every inch
of it. The force and power of altitude
must be in it, the glory and pride of
exaltation must be in it. It must be every
inch a proud and soaring thing, rising in
sheer exultation that from bottom to top
it is a unit without a single dissenting
line."
PLANNING
• The building was named after a local
financier, Ellis Wainwright, who
needed office space to manage
the St. Louis Brewers Association.
• Sullivan and Adler divided the
building into four zones:
• 1. The basement was the
mechanical and utility area. Since
this level was below ground, it did
not show on the face of the
building.
• 2. The next zone was the ground-
floor zone which was the public
areas for street-facing shops, public
entrances and lobbies.
PLANNING
• 3. The third zone was the
office floors with identical
office cells clustered around
the central elevator shafts.
• 4. The final zone was the
terminating zone, consisting of
elevator equipment, utilities
and a few offices. With the
intention of opening up the
corner of the building to the
street,.
• Retail openings required large
glazed openings, which
elegantly and delicately sit
under the massive building.
PLANNING
• Organic ornamentation and carvings
are characteristic of Sullivan (as
published in his System of
Architectural Ornament), the most
prominent being the frieze that rests
below the deep cornice, the surface
around the door of the main
entrance, and the spandrels between
the windows on different floors.
• The celery-leaf foliage varies in
design and scale with each story,
embellished in terra cotta which
gained popularity during the time of
construction.
• The celery-leaf foliage varies in
PLANNING design and scale with each story,
embellished in terra cotta which
gained popularity during the time of
construction.
• Sullivan described the symbolism of
his architecture as one of simple
geometric and structural forms and
organic ornamentation, a
juxtaposition of objective tectonic
and subjective organic influences.
• It's construction system is based on a
steel frame that is clad in masonry;
this is credited for being the first
successful utilization of steel frame.
PLANNING
• Brown sandstone is the facing for the
first two floors, and the following
seven stories are continuous brick
piers. Ornate foliage reliefs are carved
in terra cotta panels, decorating each
floor. The tenth story is a frieze of
winding leaf scrolls that frame circular
inset windows.
• In 1972 the building was listed as a
City Landmark, after it became a
National Historic Landmark in 1958. It
is currently owned by the State of
Missouri and is used for state offices.
PLANNING
• The ornamentation of the building includes a wide freeze
below the deep cornice, which express the naturalistic
celery leaf.
• Decorated spandrel between the windows on the different
floors and an elaborate door surrounded at the main
entrance.
• Apart from the slender brick piers, the only solids of the
wall surface are the spandrel panels between the windows.
They have rich decorative pattern in low relief, varying in
design and scale with each storey.
• The freeze is pierced by un-obstructive bulls eye window
that light the top storey floor.
PLANNING
In 1972 the building was listed as a City Landmark, after it
became a National Historic Landmark in 1958. It is currently
owned by the State of Missouri and is used for state offices.
MATERIALS
• Red brick is used for facade.
• Steel is used for frame structure.
• Terracotta.
• Sandstone.
VIEWS AND ORNAMETATION
VIEWS AND ORNAMENTATION
VIEWS
ORNAMENTATION AND VIEWS.
THANK YOU..
