Chicago Auditorium Building

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CHICAGO AUDITORIUM BUILDING: THE INFLUENCE OF THE PAST AND PRESENT ON DESIGN CONCEPTION
Chicago Auditorium building is one of the remarkable achievements of American architecture. The architects, Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler, were one of the firsts to shape and establish the panache of American style of architecture, which moved away from the influences of European architecture order. Consequently, it was at the time of construction that the Americans are experiencing political division and social uprising. As a result, the design and functionality of Chicago Auditorium building were greatly influenced by said events. In this report, the impact of sociocultural events in the shaping of the design of Chicago Auditorium building as a multi-purpose …show more content…

This building will not only become the representation of new Chicago, but it will become the place of celebration and gathering for the people. Furthermore, it will have to be massive enough to allow plenty of space to accommodate the masses of Chicago’s community. As such the new Chicago Auditorium was designed to fulfill these requirements. Nevertheless, the design of Chicago Auditorium became the basis of the Chicago School of architecture, which falls under the American style of architecture, which contributed to the style later known as Modernism in 1940s (Sullivan …show more content…

There is no decorative element incorporated to this sole purpose, other than the multiple grouping arrangements of the lamps (see Fig 5 in appendix). In the continuation of the reflection of the present, the seating arrangement of the theatre is so unlike the European Operas, in which there is a minimal amount of box seat, of which is the symbolism of the corrupted past of Europe- box seats are only added by request of inventors. In the European society, box seats can usually be bought for personal use of the owner at the time (Garczynki 2007). Sullivan has envisioned and realized a place of which a democratic access of the high culture entertainment can be granted, overlooking the social issues of hierarchy and privilege. Thus, in the Chicago Auditorium theatre seating arrangement, the very notion of democracy, in which entertainment is for everyone, is found, and this is paralleled to those of the era of Roman amphitheaters (see Fig 6 in appendix), which is open for all to share (Schuyler

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