Prompt #1: When given the opportunity to showcase the most beautiful building in the world and capture the spirit of the machine age, in the Chicago Tribune Tower competition, the Design Jury opted for the Neo-Gothic proposal. Sullivan challenged the Tribune selection saying: "These men made a solemn promise to the world. Why did they renege? Individually and jointly, they made a triple promise... A design setting forth the most beautiful conception of a lofty office building that has been evolved by the fertile mind of man, was presented squarely to them at the last moment. Were they frightened? Why did they welch? Did they come upon a ghost, an apparition? ... For no choice exists without motive" (Sullivan 1923, 157). Why does Louis Sullivan believe that they fell short on the promise that they made? What do you see as the motive(s) for selecting the Neo-Gothic structure? Analyze Sullivan's critique of the Chicago Tribune Tower and challenge his assessment. Be specific in examining his use of words in your analysis. What perspective was Sullivan missing? What could have been further examined (urban context, interior spaces, functional needs, cultural context etc.) in the critique? Prompt #2 1922 was a landmark year in American architecture with the initiation of the Chicago Tribune competition. For many architects internationally, it was a unique opportunity to retire the eclecticist approach relying on historical precedents and to offer a new vision for American architecture. Sullivan argued that: “The first prize is demoted to the level of those works evolved of dying ideas, even as it sends forth a frantic cry to escape from the common bondage of those governed by ideas" (Sullivan 1923, 153). If you were on the Design Jury, would you have selected Howells and Hood's proposal as the winning scheme? If so, why and if not, why not? Would historical reference inform your selection? Compare and contrast the characteristics of at least two of the design proposals and make a case for why they should have risen to the top. Reference passages from Sullivan's article and examine closely the distinguishing characteristics between the proposals? Prompt #3: There is a dynamic interplay between urban infrastructure, zoning regulations, economics, cultural, and environmental forces that are instrumental ultimately in building design. Examine the article, "Zoning and "Zeitgeist": The Skyscraper City in the 1920s" by Carol Willis who examines the relationship zoning policies and the development of a new era for American architecture and urbanism. She writes: "Yet, in the many prophecies of a rationalized skyscraper city that were advanced in the 1920s, we can preview the birth of what many architects and critics of the period excitedly pronounced a new era in American architecture and urbanism" (Willis 1986, 47). - While architects were seeking a new authentic American style, were the zoning laws ultimately shaping it? Examine supportive and contradictory positions - In The American Architecture of Today Edgell celebrated zoning as "the first great instrument of control, working for the good of humanity, of science and of art” (Willis 1985, 49). If zoning is an instrument of control, how is architecture instrumental? - What role did setbacks have in the transformation of the urban landscape? - Did Sullivan overlook the zoning ordinance and the - Did Sullivan overlook the zoning ordinance and the infrastructural relationships that preliminarily dominated the architectural forms of the Chicago Tribune competition? Prompt #4: When a new form is invented, whether it be in art, literature, or architecture, some of the worst and most misguided criticisms are written during the infancy of a new form. These reactions can also be some of the most original, keen, and cutting. - Examine the Chicago Tribune Tower proposals and Sullivan's article, do you find points of wisdom for architects or detrimental perspectives articulated? - Share these perspectives, analyze, and critique. Offer citations from the selected passages. - With some historical distance from the Chicago Tribune competition, how do you see the Tribune tower differently? Discussion Framework: Discussion Framework: Part 1 (your initial post): Your initial post must meet the following: 1. Respond to one of the prompt options for the week. (That is not a free-write or write whatever you want). 2. Title the post to correspond to the chosen prompt. 3. Compose a response that consists of at least 200 words, of your own writing, which critically examine the reading(s) and engage the prompt. (Please omit any unnecessary fluff to reach a particular word count.) 4. Express your thoughts in clear and careful writing. Make sure to type, review, and edit before posting. (Please do not write like you are Snapchatting or texting a friend.) Use complete sentences and appropriate terminology. Provide evidence from the text to support your position. Where relevant, refer to direct passages using the Chicago Manual of Style Author Date parenthetical citation. These quotations are not included in your reflection word count. 5. Thoughtfully engage with peers' work. Some responses may include concluding questions to further discussion.