Rectangles Dissolving Into Circles: Louis Sullivan and the Boxing in of Modern Architecture

Louis Sullivan, in an article published in the August 1892 edition of The Engineering Magazine “Ornamentation in Architecture” wrote that “by virtue of mass and proportion” a building devoid of ornamentation may signify something noble and dignified . Sullivan called for a period of cooling down in the application of ornament in modern buildings because he felt that in order to fully realize the potential of modern buildings, designers first needed to master a new grammar of forms. Any ornamentation, Sullivan suggests, must flow throughout harmoniously and embody a “singleness of idea”.
This position is clearly laid out in his seminal Wainright Building (1890-1891). The building’s tripartite construction and soaring pilasters emphasize the building’s upward thrust, projecting power and commerce. Organic details formed in terracotta provided some allusion to the building’s occupant, The Wainright Brewery Company. This quintessentially American architectural expression marked the epoch of St. Louis’ golden age, which culminated in the 1904 World’s Fair, celebrating the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis & Clarke Expedition.

In thinking about the challenges of this era of architecture, I find myself in agreement with William Curtis, who points out that architects and city planners were faced with the challenge of creating not only new types of buildings and infrastructure, but also charged with developing a new style that best complimented the new building materials and technological capabilities. While many architects, would side with Sullivan and take a step back from ornamentalism and create a stripped down rectilinear vision of the future, some would take this concept too far and alienate, if not downright terrify those who did not know what to make of these humungous new edifices.

Tati offers rare glimpses of “Old Paris” in the sterile grey modernism of Play Time

I am reminded of the boxy monolithic buildings in Jacques Tati’s Play Time (1967). In this film, Tati focuses on the rigidity of the forms of modern architecture and how it attempts to impose on us a system of rectilinear angles- which of course we destroy with our curved movements. Tati saw the global building boom and its boxy concrete skyscrapers as a threat not only to the vernacular traditions and romantic ideals of the past, but also to our very sense of humanity. Play Time is perhaps the most articulate and scathing indictment of taking Sullivan’s directive too far. In one sequence, the film’s featured character, Monsieur Hulot walks up to a trade fair exhibit which features garbage bins in the form of Greek columns. The sign in the booth proclaims “Thro.Out Greek Style”. In the shot below, the beautiful Barbara Dennick, Tati’s mistress at the time, holds open a glass door as she enters a monolithic steel skyscraper and reveals to us the reflection of the Eiffel Tower. It is one of the film’s only allusions to its past, to beauty, to what Paris brings to mind when we close our eyes and imagine it.


Cities, like the somehow organized complex of buildings that coalesce to form their shape, have a uniqueness and personality that not only define the vernacular culture, but also valorizes the aspirations, history, and accomplishment of a people. This is why ornamentalism is so important. In this respect, I stand with Sullivan when he suggests that “a decorative structure, harmoniously conceived, well considered, cannot be stripped of its system of ornament without destroying its individuality.”





Additional Reading:

Curtis, William J. R.. Modern Architecture Since 1900. New York. Phaidon Press Limited. 2010. Print.

Play Time. Dir. Jacques Tati. Perfs. Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennick, Rita Maiden. 1967. Blu Ray. Criterion Collection, 2009.

Sullivan, Louis. Kindergarten Chats and Other Writings. New York. Dover Publications. 1979. Print.