What Are The Similarities Between The Carson Terracott And Company Building

Louis Sullivan, an architect, created the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building from iron, steel, glass, and terracotta around 1889-1903 C.E. This architecture demonstrates a Chicago style as an early skyscraper in Illinois in the United States. Louis Sullivan emphasizes the entrance to attract shoppers into the building.

The unity, lines, and emphasis help identify this architectural style. The Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building includes a rounded corner entryway covered with lavish decorations and a bronze-colored ground floor. The unity of the identical windows above the bottom floor contributes to the uniqueness of this style as they serve a purpose to stress the similar function throughout the building. This building connects

the relationship of architecture and commerce. The lines on this building also pinpoint the architectural style. Sullivan’s building highlights the long, uninterrupted horizontal lines under each window from each side of the building towards the entry bay. The lines leading to the entry also contribute to the unity. The emphasis on the ornate entrance and the lower street-level serves as the main attraction. The cast-iron ornaments hold complicated, delicate, organic and floral motifs. This pattern distinguishes this attractive building from the other buildings built around the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building. The emphasis on the larger bottom windows displays the store’s products. The entrance contains elaborate decorations with a cornice line that flows around the corner. The similarity of the style with past architecture in the terracotta elaborations included in the entrances of the buildings illustrate an example of influence in the past artworks like the architecture Temple of Minerva.
The Temple of Minerva, constructed around 510-500 B.C.E, utilizes terracotta for decoration.

This artwork originated from the culture of the Etruscans and the master sculptor Vulca in Veii near Rome, Italy. Although Vulca selected the materials of wood, mud brick, and tufa, a volcanic rock, terracotta provides the most decorations. The similarities between the ornate design and terracotta portray possible influences. Although the Temple of Minerva functioned religiously and the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building served as a commercial center, they both welcomed the public citizens to enter these buildings. The embellished frontal entrance of the Temple of Minerva possibly influenced the idea of the attractive entrance of the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building. These buildings both influence the construction of new buildings due to their ideas of a decorative entrance to lure people in. However, the evident difference of the format of architecture proves that the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building did not base its floor plan off of the Temple of Minerva. The Temple of Minerva, a Classical architecture, differs because of its large portico, or porch, and it contained terracotta sculptures on top of the entrance for decorations instead of floral motifs on the entrance. The Temple of Minerva also included tufa columns and walls covered in stucco while the Carson, Pirie, Scott, and Company Building did not build any columns to support the building and does

not exhibit Classical architecture but more of a Modern style due to the new technology of steel beams.