Introduction

The contemporary cities, such as New York, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Hong Kong and many others have the modern look due to the number of skyscrapers, which create a modern look of the city, make it unique and significant. The cities mentioned and many others have skyscrapers, which took roots from one outstanding person, Louis Sullivan. This man has created the contemporary skyscrapers as people see them now. Starting the discussion about this person,it is important to mention the fact that this architect began the modern history of the cities since no skyscraper could be possible without this person. Previously the height of the building depended on the depth of the walls. However, Louis Sullivan has changed the vision of the city architecture and has changed the way how modern cities look. The life and the works of this person deserve particular attention since his contribution to the modern vision of architecture cannot be overestimated. Louis Henry Sullivan was born on September 3, 1856 and died at the threshold of 68 years old. Being considered as a father of skyscrapers, many people are sure that he is a father of modernism in architecture as well. Having changed considerably the principles of construction and the rules of developing buildings, modern architecture has received significant contribution. Louis Sullivan is a person, who has contributed greatly to the modern urban architecture. The life and the works of this person require additional analysis to understand what specifically was done and how this ordinary American architect has managed to put such valuable contribution to the development of the modern architecture. Sullivan is a creator of the concept of organic architecture, which means the connection of the construction with natural environment.The works by Louis Sullivan have left an important imprint on the works of the architects of the next generation all over the world.

Family and early life 

Louis Henry Sullivan was born on September 3, 1856 in Boston, Massachusetts. His father Patrick, an immigrant from Ireland, was a fiddler and accomplished dancer, while his mother née Andrienne Listwas born in Switzerland. Having immigrated to the USA in the late 1840s, they married in 1852. Their first son Albert was born in 1854. Beyond this, not much is said about the private life of the Sullivan family. It is known that Louis was very close with his older brother. Almost all Louis Sullivan'sformativewas spent on the farm of his grandfather, where he developed a love fornature. His autobiography book starts with the following passage:

Once upon a time there was a village in New England called South Reading, Here lived a little boy of five years. That is to say he nested with his grandparents on a miniature farm of twenty-four acres, a mile or so removed from the center of gravity and activity which was called Main Street. It was a mainstreet of the day and generation, and so was the farm proper to its time and place (Sullivan9).

Living on the farm, the boy perceived the world through nature. That is why his further professional activity was connected to striving to ideal forms and a natural fit of construction in the urban landscape. The future architect understood the principles of nature development and wanted to contribute to an organic urban landscape. 

Sullivan graduated from high school a year ahead of his age group andat sixteen entered the first architectural school of the United States, opened in 1866 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Having studied one year only, Sullivan left education and worked as an apprentice in the studio of Philadelphia architect Frank Furness, follower of the romantic Gothic Revival. 

The architect moved to Chicago in November 1873. It was not difficult for an architect to find work in the city since this field wasin great demand after the devastating Great Chicago Fire of 1871. However, the dream of all his life was to attend the Paris School of Fine Arts. During his time working with Furness and in Chicago, Sullivan earned enough money to continue his studies in Paris. Followinghis calling of the time, Sullivan entered Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1874 with the purpose of studying European art and architecture. The studieswere very hard, as all classes were conducted in French, but Sullivan gave it a try. He studied there for a year before returning to Chicagoin 1875.

During the four next years, the architect worked in different studios. Sullivan tried to get a job in different architectural schools, but his French diploma failed to impress employers and he was offered only a position of a draftsman. While there was still much work in Chicago, competition was high. Most architects in Chicago were interested in traditional buildings, regarding the Renaissance as a period of artist architecture that could not be surpassed. Sullivan, being a real connoisseur of architecture and art, went beyond the accepted norms, much to the irritation of many others in the field. In 1879, Sullivan entered the Chicago office of architect and engineer Dankmar Adler and two years later,he became a partner of Adler's firm(Louis Sullivan Collection). Adler needed several extra workers, as he had been commissioned to design the Central Music Hall. It was a successful endeavor, and in a year, the project was completed. The dream of small farm boy hadcome true.

The joint venture with Adler, an experienced engineer and organizer, allowed Sullivan adjust his full specialization and take part in the designing of nearly two hundred buildings of different nature and functions. During his time with the firm, Sullivan received practical experience in constructing residential, commercial, and religious buildings. The partnershipbetween Sullivan and Adler was successful for a number of reasons. The work Sullivan focused on was theartistic esthetics, while Adler was engaged in business and engineering side of the work and planning,as well as in spatial organization of buildings (Louis Sullivan Collection).

The economy changed after the Civil War in the United States. The Chicago required more new offices and office buildings. Every designer and architect wanted to build more and more offices, however, the problem was in a small area, which did not allow constructing a full-fledged building required by the social and economic needs. The highest building was about six-stories without elevators, since no one needed them. Raymond Hood caused a sensation having built a Tribune Building, a ten stories building in New York in 1874. However, the structure was not fully completed and improved. To have such high building, the architects had to create thick walls, which also took space. Moreover, the building of such height required small windows, which caused some problems with lighting. During that time, the company of Adler and Sullivan took a project of building a Borden – Block office. They managed to create a perfect model of a building with better lighting and ventilation. The most important, having involved an idea of using external supports with a separate fundament allowed implementing a smaller thickness of the walls, which allowed giving more space. The task was completed and the building was applied to exploitation. It was a success. The venture was overwhelmed with offers from different states, their business flourished (Ncarb&Gregersen 23).

Chicago hosted an opera festival in 1885. The main organizer of the event was a millionaire Ferdinand Peck. The event was successful and Peck decided to present Chicago with a personal opera hall. He invested a large sum in the construction, attracted investors and organized a tender. The contract was signed up Adler and Sullivan. Auditorium (1887 – 1889) was the largest theater hall in the US. Allowing seats for 4237 people, the building represented itself as a building with a hotel and many offices. The area of the building was about twenty thousand square meters of seventeen floors. This was the first skyscraper in the city, an incredible success, but that was only the beginning of the company success (Bridge n.p.).

In 1896, Adler and Sullivan provided into operation one of the first skyscrapers of a modern type, Wainwright Building in St. Louis. At the project was completed, Sullivan wrote an article, where he said that the main peculiarity of such buildings was their height. He also identified the five principles of the construction of skyscrapers, which he used, and further many of his followers did. He believed that the skyscrapers required underground floor with boiler, power plants and other devices that would provide energy and heat into the building. The first floor was usually given to banks, shops and other establishments, which usually require much space, light, and easy access from the street for many people. The second floor should have the same characteristics. Offices should be located between the second and the last floor. However, the layout should not differ, having created an identical composition. Both the top floor and the underground ne should serve the purposes of technical needs, to ventilation system. Sullivan owned the famous aphorism, where he meant that the shape of the architecture should define a function. Therefore, according to Sullivan, each new skyscraper should have its own unique appearance (Bridge n.p.).

A crisis in 1893 made many projects to be frozen. Adler and Sullivan suffered serious loses since the number of projects ordered with them reduced due to high prices, but the joint venture could not allow themselves to lower those. The quarrels between the partners increased tension and caused serious disparities in already fading business. Louis was always flying in the clouds, he thought creatively without reference to material facilities, and enjoyed popularity. In 1895, Adler leaves the bureau and the entire future career is dedicated to his ideas only, without any incredible ideas. It was a great failure for Sullivan. The things started to worsen without a partner, without his business ideas and calculations. When the things started to go even worse, he decided to move from office and a year later left the company at all. Louis tried to escape and establish his personal life and in 1899, he got married. However, the marriage was short and after nine years of their life together, his wife left him. Due to the lack of funds, he had to sell his library, which was collected for many years. He sold mansion, art collections, but debt did not become smaller. Louis used to possess anything he wanted. The previous success and fame infected him with star fever, he felt the most talented and powerful architect of all time. He was invited to give lectures; he began writing a lot about democracy, education and arts. He thought himself to be not only a great town planner, but also an outstanding thinker. The end of his life he devoted to writing (Bridge n.p.).

Turning some attention to Louis Sullivan’s toots and personal life,it should be stated that his parents had different origin. His father was Irish and his mother was Swedish. Having immigrated to the USA in the late 1840s, they got married in 1852. The first son of a couple was born in 1854. Not much is said about the private life and the family of Louis Sullivan. It is known that he was very close with his brother. As for the place of the women in Sullivan’s life, he was married to Margaret Davies Hattabough in 1899. As it has already been mentioned above, the marriage was not happy and did not last for a long time, the couple separated in 1906 and divorced in 1917. Louis Sullivan has never had any children (Koepern.p.). However, such state of affairs has allowed the architect to devote most of his free time to the affair he adored. 

Architecture was not merely work for Sullivan; it was his life. Having considered the life path of Sullivan, it is clear that he was born to be an architect. The theory of architecture he created can be compared to poetry. He introduced the concept of social utopia in his architectural style, the dream of democracy as a social order based on human brotherhood and unity. Esthetic is closely linked to ethics, the concept of beauty was related to the concept of truth, andhis professional tasks were tied to social aspirations. However, all these ideas did not leave the vague idealized dream. According to the architect, the process of creating a construction should be natural and intuitive, without any pressure from the side. The architecture must express the properties of the surrounding space, to growfrom it and supplement it.It must start from the present, including its logistical capabilities and stages of social development. Each building should express its particular function, and at the same timeit should not departfrom the truth in terms design expression. Decorations must be the completion of the natural form. The concept of function, according to Sullivan, captured not only utilitarian purpose of a building, but its internal structure, its imaginative and emotional quality. Correlating the notions of “shape” with “function”, Sullivan meant the form of expression of the diversity of manifestations of life associated with the building. His aphorism was a direct transfer of biological principles in the areas of architecture.

Some of his works

Louis Sullivan was a revolutionist in his vision of urban landscape. Having understood architecture of the city as the ornament of the plain surfaces and cubic forms, he designed his pieces with a considerable attention to the geometric forms.Koeperhas stated that Sullivan’s feeling of architecture “should not only serve and express society but also illuminate the heart” (n. p.). Much can be said about the work of Sullivan, whose “architecture is a mixture of plain geometry and undisguised massing punctuated with elaborate pockets of ornamentation in stone, wood and terra cotta” (“Louis Sullivan: The struggle for American Architecture”). It should be mentioned that never having worked on theorizing the architecture, Sullivan managed to do it after his statement that “form ever follows function” (Groat& Wang85). Scholars interpret this saying in several ways. First, it is understood as the desire of an architect to highlight the fact that architecture follows the organic inner life. Second, the statement can be understood as a desire to fit the building into the landscape by having highlighted its efficiency and functionalism (Groat& Wang 85). The Auditorium Building in Chicago (1886-1890), Wainwright Building in Saint Louis, Missouri (1886-1890), Schiller Building (1891), Stock Exchange buildings (1893-1894), and Guaranty Building in Buffalo, New York (1894-1895) are the most known designs created under the architectural success of Louis Sullivan. 

However, it is important to return to the very beginning. Innovative high-raised buildings of business centers, including the Guaranty Building, which was designed based on Sullivan's functional approach to architecture. He created the concept of organic architecture, which was further developed by F. L. Wright. Sullivan is often called “the father of skyscrapers” and “the prophet of modern architecture”. The creativity of Sullivan and his aphorism that the form of architecture defines the function had provided a significant impact on the development of European functionalism of the 1920s. One of the first skyscrapers constructed by Sullivan, who glorified his creator, was the Wainwright Building in St. Louis (USA), built in 1891. Located at 701 Chestnut St., the building was created by Adler and Sullivan Company, but significantly designed by Sullivan himself. It was his idea to change the principle of building and to create a new concept of construction. Of course, today a 10-storied buildingwould hardly be regarded as a skyscraper. However, in this case, a key role of the building is based not on its height, but on the features of the construction technology, because the building has a solid steel frame. The miserliness of the construction can be explained by the desire to rationale architecture, however, the rich decoration of the building proved his faith to the author’s tension to modernism.During the development of the project, Sullivan formulated the principles of architecture, which have been used for the construction of skyscrapers to this day. The architect declined the horizontal division of the facades, opting for vertical ones instead. Sullivan put the symbols that correspond to the American national spirit into the concept of a skyscraper.Wainwright Building in St. Louis is considered as the first skyscraper, built under the modern techniques, used in the modern world. Located at 701 Chestnut St., the building was created by Adler and Sullivan Company, but significantly constructed. However, this building cannot be named as a skyscraper if to compare it with other skyscrapers constructed in the modern world. It is a 10-storied building, which allowed the architects to reconsider the major building principles. Previously, the height of the building was achieved by means of the width of the walls. This building was constructed using a new skeleton frame method. The peculiarity of this building is that it referred to steel frame construction for the first time. However, it is still a brick building. Sullivan was allowed to implement his aesthetic theory of building a tall construction. Despite the fact that the structure referred to columns, it was the first example of the three-part construction. Creating the building and trying to emphasize the height of the construction, Sullivan wrote in one of his articles of that time: 

(A skyscraper) must be tall, every inch of it tall. The force and power of altitude must be in it the glory and pride of exaltation must be in it. It must be every inch a proud and soaring thing, rising in sheer exultation that from bottom to top it is a unit without a single dissenting line (Sullivan).

Despite the fact that Wainwright Building was build with the use of columns, as it has already been mentioned, the construction was still supported by the steel frame, which allowed to lower the weight of the building in general and helped to reduce the space the building captured in the city space. Thus, trying to leave the same space inside the building and to minimize the city space, new ideas had to be implemented in order to satisfy the needs of the community and to be able to implement them.The exterior of the building is a brown brick with the similar windows, which creates an impression of uniqueness inside the common shape. Despite the fact that building has nothing peculiar in terms of architectural shape, the ornament adds to some significance. However, according to the main principles of Sullivan and his vision of the architecture, a building, completely devoid of ornaments, can give the impression of majesty and nobility due to its masses and proportions. It is impossible to say whether the pattern can significantly improve the basic quality. Therefore, working in the direction of simplifying and minimizing the costs and effort, the unnecessaryglamourwas avoided, leaving the space for naturalism, vibrant, and health. 

According to Bridge, the Wainwright Building had a particular color of bricks, which did not allow any luxury and wanted to create an impression of some simplification (n.p.). He added:

(The building) was constructed with a very modern style but Sullivan gave a nod toward some of the classical conventions in  which he had been well trained. The comparison was triple, inspired by a classical column. The roof was capped with a heavy cornice and just below it a large frieze decorated with a leafy motif. The frieze was pierced with the occasional bull’s-eye window behind which the elevator machinery and water tanks were housed. The spandrels were also decorated in a leafy pattern (Bridge n. p.). 

The five principles were used in the construction of Sullivan’s Wainwright Building. These principles, formulated by Louis Sullivan were extremely accurate and the modern architects follow these principles so far. The first principle of Wainwright Building is that the underground floor contains a boiler, power plants and other energy devices. The second principle the building follows is the presence of the banks, shops and other establishments at the first floor. Such places require such space, light, street signs, and an easy access from the outside. The third principle is the easy availability of the space using the stairs with the same space and light as on the first floor. The second floor of Wainwright Building is exactly as it should be. The forth principle of the high building is the presence of the offices and Wainwright Building strictly meets this requirement. Additional peculiarity of the office in the place and the principle discussed by Sullivan is a complete similarity of the offices; they should not differ at all, which will create some balance in the construction and the feeling of free equality. The final fifth principle, followed in the Wainwright Building is the technical top floor. Ventilation system is located on the top floor of the construction under consideration.

Besides, the main principle of the architect was implemented in this construction, the form always follows the function. In case of a skyscraper, functionality is understood in a special way. A skyscraper should be a skyscraper as a representation of the idea of strength and freedom, personal dignity and following the principles of American spirit. Therefore, to be a skyscraper, the building should raise and soar. Returning to the construction principles of Wainwright Building, Sullivan refused from horizontal components of the façade. As it has already been mentioned above, such principles were implemented in any further skyscraper created. The supporting constructions, which were set outside the frame, serve to highlight the height of the building and its direction into the sky. Moreover, large windows between the pillars create a sense of airiness, which is another symbol of American freedom. This fact highlights one more time the main principle expressed in Sullivan’s philosophy, that the form follows the function. There are 109 stores and more than 200 offices inside the building, but that was not the main point. The first skyscraper was understood as a special type of building with its own aesthetics, and America received its own architectural style.

Another building that deserves attention is the Auditorium Building. It is one of the most unique theaters in America. It is one part of a massive building, called the Auditorium Building in the cross-roads of Michigan Avenue and Congress Parkway in downtown Chicago. One of the pushers of the building creation was the necessity to create an attraction in the city and to guarantee that the building brings any profit. As a result, Auditorium Building was constructed with a theater and other office rooms and shops. Adler and Sullivan expressed this idea in a form of a 10-storied block, topped with a square tower. It was one of the most expensive buildings in the city to construct at the time, costing more than three million dollars, as well as an impressive height (almost 240 meters). The weight of the building is about 110 tons due to the walls made of granite and limestone. The number of seats in Auditorium Theatre was 4,200 (now it is about 3,900).The best place is in the middle of the parterre,the private balconies have been shifted to the sides (Bridge n. p.).

Being the designer of office buildings, Adler had some experience in acoustic engineering. The presence of electric lighting and air conditioning creates the construction one of the best in the city with the use of the innovative techniques. Significantly, the construction contained fireproofing features, which were unavailable to most other architects. Overall, this structure is massive. Bridge describes the construction as follows:

Constructed with a shell structure, meaning the stones were stacked on top of each other… the ground level boasts three strong arches reaching over the entryways. Just above them sits a cantilevered block of windows, behind which is the hotel lobby. The building has a vertical composition with long horizontal rows of windows that are separated by thick columns that stretch up the middle of building, drawing the eye upward (n. p.).

The description perfectly details the exact appearance of the building.The largest in the United States and the tallest building in Chicago at the time that it was constructed, the theater is a real miracle, which has applied innovation technologies. It is an example of the best achievements of architecture and design of American school. Basedon his experience in acoustic engineering, Adler designed a building, equipped with the best acoustics, air conditioning, which required 15 tons of ice daily, 3500 incandescent bulbs (the first time they were used in 1879), 26 hydraulic lifts, which could easily bring up and down the blocks for design stage, 96-feet loft above the stage for storingthe elements of scenery decorations. A huge building is crownedwith a 17-storey tower. The building contains not only a great theater hall, but also a luxury hotel with 400 roomsand 136 offices. The head office of the company Adler and Sullivan was located in the two top floors of the building. The Auditorium Theatre was the first major project of this famous architect firm. After the opening of the theater, the company began to receive contracts from all over the country. Later, this building became famous because it was constructed by the architects, which were the first to build a skyscraper.

Later years

Discussing the later years of Louis Sullivan,it is important to pay attention to his written works. Having appeared at the edge of poverty, the architect imagined himself asa great thinker and this launched his writing career. Some of his books were successful while others were not. However, it is important to get the main ideas of several of these written process to understand what particularly the architect wanted to express in his books and articles and how his inner world was expressed in the buildings he created. It seems writing helped the previously famous and successful architect hide his loneliness and continue being successful. People who have contributed greatly to the development of something in a practical manner want to share their skills and experience with others. This is exactly what has happened at the end of Louis Sullivan’s life.

Having recognized his responsibility before society of a genius, Sullivan began to write elaborate papers on democracy and the American tradition. The major meaning of the written works was devoted to the fact that there are two start powers in the world, democracy and feudalism, and when they fight, the victory of the first one is followed by the victory of the other. Modernity, which decreased with the increase of the financial crisis, seemed to him more gloom, keeping the tendency to the triumph of the feudal formation. The last decades of Sullivan's life did not include any specific architectural achievements. The architect could boast of only a couple of small rural banks. However, the architect devoted to writing most of the time. During these years he completed The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered (1896), Kindergarten Chats (1902), and The Autobiography of an Idea (1924). These works help to understand the professional achievements of the architect and his vision of the world in general. A System of Architectural Ornament, According With a Philosophy of Man's Powers was published in 1924 as a collection of Sullivan’s intricate and delicate drawings (Louis Sullivan Collection).Analyzing this period of the life of Sullivan,it is significant to take a deeper analysis of his works. The Autobiography of an Idea (1924) is a book written in the third person. It is significant that much attention in the piece of writing is devoted to the formation of Sullivan as an architect, but not to his professional activities in general. This piece does not tell much about his private life, while it only mentions the facts and events, which assisted in his architecture profession. 

One of the written pieces of work that deserves public attention is his article “The tall office building artistically considered” published in 1896, where he formulated his famous principle about shape and function (Sullivan “The Tall Office Building”). According to his main ideas, everything in nature has a shape, in other words, its exterior feature, which tells exactly what it is andhow it differs from other things. In nature, these forms are expressed the inner life, the basic properties of an animal, a tree, a bird, a fish. These forms are very specific, even visible, and people simply believe that it is natural to have such a form. However, according to Sullivan,if people look under the surface of the things, the essence of things is always manifested in the flesh of the things, and this endless process is called birth and growth. The essence of things is always reflected in the spirit and flesh. The air is beautiful and incomprehensible. The author speaks about the heart of a man standing on the bank of all things.As a rule, always and everywhere form follows function. Where function is unchanged, the form is unchanged as well. The rocks and mountains remain unchanged for centuries.When lightning occurs, it takes a shape and disappears in a moment. The basic law of all matter, either organic or not, is the fact that life is recognizable in its manifestations anda form always follows a function. That is the law. Therefore, the major statement of the article is the obvious thing that people cannot comprehend the shape, appearance, pattern, or whatever it is more related to the high office buildings. However, at the nature of things, the functions of the building follow, and that if a function does not change, then the form should not be changedeither(Sullivan 256). 

Kindergarten Chats, initially published in 1902 and further reprinted in 1947, continued speaking about function and form. According to this book, form is in everything, everywhere and at any moment. In accordance with its nature and function, some form are defined, while others uncertain; some of them are vague, while others are specific and clearly delineated; some have symmetry, others have just the rhythm. Some forms are abstract and othersare material. The author offers the following examples of form and function. The shape of the oak is similar to its purpose and expresses its function. The form of pine indicates its function. The form of a horse has a similarity and logical features of a horse. The shape of a spider resembles and tangibly confirms the function of a spider. Referring to architecture, the author states in the book that shape of Roman architecture expresses, if function expresses anything at all, life in Rome, the American form of architecture will express, if it will ever be able to express anything, American life.

At the end of his life, Sullivan had several reasons to consider himself betrayed. Customers began to teach him how to build houses. In 1917, he was asked to build a department of a bank of savings and loan in the town of Sidney, Ohio. The project designed by Sullivan was really magnificent. The future building had to combine small size and dignity, solidity and elegance, and its design was at that time very unusual. However, the director rejected the project, expressing regret that the building did not have any columns. Sullivan was very disappointed with the decision and convinced the director to construct a building without the columns having stated that anyone can build columns, but it is difficult to create a building without those. Director reluctantly allowed the building to be designed without columns, but inthe process cut back on the amount he was willing to pay. However, Sullivan did not have another choice but to accept the conditions and to build aconstruction without paying attention to fair disregard due to very tight financial condition.Having appeared at the edge of senility, Sullivan lost everything he managed to acquire during the life of his fame and prosperity.

The architect would receive no more contracts during the later years of his life. Hisfinal design was a small music store. Sullivan was aging, and a habit of luxury life remained, despite the fact that it caused much trouble to him and to his savings.Sadly, he was forgottenin the early 1920s. However, hewas rememberedby chance in 1923.Tokyo had been destroyed by an earthquake, and the one building which withstood was the Imperial Hotel built by Paul Muller, an engineer from the office of Adler and Sullivan. The press talked much about the Chicago school of architecture and everyone was surprised that its founder was still alive. There is an opinion among American architects that Sullivan was more of a decorator and designer, rather than an architect. In fact, many regarded William Le Baron Jenney as the creator of the first skyscraper, not Sullivan. Nevertheless, it was Sullivan whoin fact created a skyscraper as a symbol of the idea. He considered a skyscraper as a representation of the spirit of American democracy. Sullivan had stopped designing buildingsin 1908 and had written nothing. In 1918, he finally went bankrupt: he lost his studio and any possibility to receive any job offers. In his later years, he wrote The Autobiography of an Ideas (1922-1923), where he tried to recall his youth and most flourishing years of his work in collaboration with Adler. He died on April 14, 1924, forgotten by everyone in a poor hotel room in Chicago.

Conclusion

Building skyscrapers has become one of the particular features of the modern world.Cities nowadays have grown in height, not just in width.Moreover, the ordinary cities, not just the major capitals, become higher and higher. Louis Sullivan is one of the most famous persons responsible for this. Having decided to become an architect from early childhood, Sullivan went through numerous issues on his way to dream. Studying at different educational establishments, including the world renowned MIT, he managed to receive a great education, which, in combination with his inborn talent, made it possible to create the buildings, which have changed the world in general and the understanding of the city space in particular. However, studying much, Sullivan has never completed education as well as he has never had children, being divorced with his only wife. 

The architect is also known for his idea that shape in the architecture always defines the function. Almost all of his buildings expressed the goal of giving the building the clarity and elegance that carried the elements of modernism.His designs are also known due to his love to ornaments on facades and in interiors. Nature has always inspired him; he used botanical and geometric motifs to add poetry and emotion to a hostile person city landscape. The comparison of architecture with nature allowed Sullivan to conclude that the purpose of the architectural solution should be to give each one its peculiar construction of a unique look. As an artist, Sullivan was interested only in expressive appearance of the building, due to the nature of its environment. Organization of internal space was not recognized as an artistic challenge. 

As the father of the skyscrapers, Sullivan thought about the improvement of the construction through the end of his life. Having stopped building the offices and completing other orders, the architect decided to show himself as a good theoretic. He wrote several books and articles, seeking to discuss his theories about form and function of the buildings. Although one of the most famous and one of the most prosperous architects of his time, he died in poverty. Having changed the world, Sullivan refused to adjust to the changes, which occurred in the world of architecture. In addition, he was too dependent on his success and eve with the lost most of hiswealth he continued tooverspend.As a result, his services were unnecessary and the only he could do were lectures and writing. Despite all this, Louis G. Sullivan is one of the most famousarchitects, admired and loved by American public and professionals. His well-designed ornaments on the buildings in Chicago create the unique spirit of the city. The architect was a teacher of the most famous US architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.

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