15. Skyscraper

Question 1

The atrium skylight in a single-loaded corridor office building would be located at the _______.

Answer 1

top, center of the building

Question 2

Besides the Roman house, what was the other historical precedent for the interior atrium of 19th Century skyscrapers?

Answer 2

Renaissance palazzo

Question 3

Sketch the standard massing scheme of a New York skyscraper designed in the 1870s:

Answer 3

.

Question 4

The style closest to describing the Equitable Life Insurance Building was ___________.

Answer 4

2nd Empire

Question 5

Why is the Equitable Building considered by many historians to be the first skyscraper?

Answer 5

elevator increased the floor to floor height

Question 6

The first skyscraper designed (but not built) in Chicago was the ______________.

Answer 6

Kendall Building

Question 7

The Renaissance palazzo provided what two precedents for the early skyscraper:

Answer 7

planning/elevations, and massing

Question 8

__________ was the tallest building under construction in the U.S. during the last 25 years of the 19th Century.

Answer 8

Philadelphia City Hall

Question 9

___________ is now being given credit for designing what most historians regard as the first skyscraper in the U.S.

Answer 9

Post

Question 10

___________ would have been the first skyscraper erected in Chicago had the 1871 fire not occurred.

Answer 10

Kendall Building

Question 11

What was the conventional color scheme of many of the buildings designed in the U.S. during the 1870s?

Answer 11

polychrome, red and gray stone

Question 12

The tallest building (exclude any “structures”) under construction in the U.S. during the 1870s was:

Answer 12

Philadelphia City Hall

Question 13

What is the geopolitical significance of Chicago’s location at the time of its founding?

Answer 13

link between Great Lakes and Mississippi River

Question 14

Name two 19th Century American writers whose search for an American style paralleled with the work of Richardson, Root, and Sullivan:

Answer 14

1. Twain

2. Whitman

Question 15

What two advantages did Root’s iron reinforced pad foundation have over the traditional foundations of time?

Answer 15

1. less depth needed

2. saved weight by eliminating stone pyramid

Question 16

Was Richardson responsible for bringing the “box” to Chicago? Explain.

Answer 16

No, Root did it before Richardson; Richardson improved form.

Question 17

According to Larson, the major departure from Root’s prior designs in Richardson’s design of the Marshall Field Wholesale Store was _________.

Answer 17

eliminates layering of floors, creates vertical emphasis

Question 18

List three technical innovations incorporated in the design and construction of the Rookery:

Answer 18

1. elevation with iron skeletal frame, single width of bricks
2. modern concrete pad foundation
3. terra cotta fire proofing

Question 19

What was a difference between the massing of a 1870s skyscraper in New York and a 1880s skyscraper in Chicago?

Answer 19

New York: topped with tower to gain height

Chicago: simple extrusion of lot, didn’t need “high profile” image

Question 20

Name two buildings that used the progression of layered arcades as their elevational idea prior to the Field Wholesale store:

Answer 20

1. New York Tribune Building

2. New York Produce Exchange

Question 21

The first skyscraper built in Chicago, the __________, was designed by ___________.

Answer 21

Montauk Block

Burnham & Root

Question 22

Larson credits Richardson with what achievement in the design of the Field Wholesale store?

Answer 22

elimination of demarcation of floors in the middle of the body of the building

Question 23

The atrium skylight in the Rookery is located at the __________.

Answer 23

center, second floor

Question 24

List two technical first developed by Root that allowed the skyscraper to evolve in Chicago:

Answer 24

1. non-load bearing masonry wall with iron skeletal frame

2. pad foundation instead of previous pyramid style

Question 25

The __________ was the last tall masonry bearing wall office building erected in Chicago.

Answer 25

Monadnock

Question 26

The first use of iron columns in the exterior of a skyscraper was the _____________.

Answer 26

Shillito’s Department Store