A Skeleton of Steel
I've mentioned steel-frame construction in a number of posts and how important the
technology was to modern (starting in the late 19th century) architecture. While running around the city taking pictures, I've come across a few buildings undergoing renovations and maintenance with a portion of their frames exposed - I thought the visuals might help in understanding the construction method better.
[Champlain Building, Holabird & Roche, 1903 /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
I think it may be hard to imagine that a lot of buildings, especially ones covered in brick,
stone, or terra cotta, are not supported by those materials, but instead by a steel-skeletal frame. The principal is the same as the skeleton that supports your body - you see the flesh and muscle, but there is a frame buried underneath that supports the entire structure. The rehab work being done at the ground level of this building has exposed the steel frame that lies deep within the brick and mortar exterior surface. It is pretty astonishing to think that that skinny column supports all that weight. Architect's Holabird & Roche left clues to the underlying support system by using a minimal amount of masonry to cover the steel cage. This was a revolutionary concept in the late 19th century building.
[Gage Building, Holabird & Roche, Louis Sullivan facade, 1899 /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
The ground floor of the Gage Building at 18 S. Michigan Avenue, is under construction as
the building owner undertakes the restoration of the original facade, which was completely removed in an "updating/modernization" redo done decades ago. Here, if you look deep into the picture on the right, you can just make out the vertical steel beam rising out of the horizontal girder. It's still encased in cement and brick, but it's there, making it's way up to the next level where another beam and girder continue a pattern of support that repeats itself all the way to the top.
[1200 N. Lake Shore Drive, Marshall & Fox, 1912 /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
1200 N. Lake Shore Drive was built in 1912 as a luxury high-rise apartment building for
luxurious residents. Originally the 12-story building contained 10 floor-through apartments, the other floors were for servants. It has been subsequently divided into smaller units per floor. But, I digress. While the 97-year-old structure undergoes exterior maintenance, the entire corner beam has been exposed, which is a great way for you to see what goes on underneath thousands of buildings in thousands of places. I was really lucky to stumble upon this.
[Corner detail; Girder detail; 1200 N. Lake Shore Drive /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
Advances in steel technology in the late 1800s made the construction of modern, high-rise
structures possible. The weight of a building no longer had to be borne by incredibly thick masonry walls. The steel skeletal frame was lighter, more flexible, and the rectangular bays created by the beams and girders could be filled in with a curtain wall of glass, brick, terra cotta and stone.
[Corner structural support system, 1200 N. Lake Shore Drive /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
Back to imagining. Follow the vertical beam, look at the corners where the horizontal
girders join in. Even though the girders running along the building to the left aren't exposed at the intersection, they appear above the windows at the far left edge of the picture, coming out from under the brickwork. Now, imagine that horizontal girder at the top of the window frame and the floor line of each apartment running all the way across the facade. Okay, in your mind's eye, remove all of the brick, decorative terra cotta, and windows that fill in the openings created by the crossing vertical beams and horizontal girders and you will have exposed the steel frame.
Thank goodness they aren't proceeding that far with 1200 Lake Shore in reality, it would
mean that the building was being demolished rather than rehabilitated. Unfortunately, I've seen far too many a building's bones being revealed while it was being entirely dismantled.
technology was to modern (starting in the late 19th century) architecture. While running around the city taking pictures, I've come across a few buildings undergoing renovations and maintenance with a portion of their frames exposed - I thought the visuals might help in understanding the construction method better.
I think it may be hard to imagine that a lot of buildings, especially ones covered in brick,
stone, or terra cotta, are not supported by those materials, but instead by a steel-skeletal frame. The principal is the same as the skeleton that supports your body - you see the flesh and muscle, but there is a frame buried underneath that supports the entire structure. The rehab work being done at the ground level of this building has exposed the steel frame that lies deep within the brick and mortar exterior surface. It is pretty astonishing to think that that skinny column supports all that weight. Architect's Holabird & Roche left clues to the underlying support system by using a minimal amount of masonry to cover the steel cage. This was a revolutionary concept in the late 19th century building.
The ground floor of the Gage Building at 18 S. Michigan Avenue, is under construction as
the building owner undertakes the restoration of the original facade, which was completely removed in an "updating/modernization" redo done decades ago. Here, if you look deep into the picture on the right, you can just make out the vertical steel beam rising out of the horizontal girder. It's still encased in cement and brick, but it's there, making it's way up to the next level where another beam and girder continue a pattern of support that repeats itself all the way to the top.
1200 N. Lake Shore Drive was built in 1912 as a luxury high-rise apartment building for
luxurious residents. Originally the 12-story building contained 10 floor-through apartments, the other floors were for servants. It has been subsequently divided into smaller units per floor. But, I digress. While the 97-year-old structure undergoes exterior maintenance, the entire corner beam has been exposed, which is a great way for you to see what goes on underneath thousands of buildings in thousands of places. I was really lucky to stumble upon this.
Advances in steel technology in the late 1800s made the construction of modern, high-rise
structures possible. The weight of a building no longer had to be borne by incredibly thick masonry walls. The steel skeletal frame was lighter, more flexible, and the rectangular bays created by the beams and girders could be filled in with a curtain wall of glass, brick, terra cotta and stone.
Back to imagining. Follow the vertical beam, look at the corners where the horizontal
girders join in. Even though the girders running along the building to the left aren't exposed at the intersection, they appear above the windows at the far left edge of the picture, coming out from under the brickwork. Now, imagine that horizontal girder at the top of the window frame and the floor line of each apartment running all the way across the facade. Okay, in your mind's eye, remove all of the brick, decorative terra cotta, and windows that fill in the openings created by the crossing vertical beams and horizontal girders and you will have exposed the steel frame.
Thank goodness they aren't proceeding that far with 1200 Lake Shore in reality, it would
mean that the building was being demolished rather than rehabilitated. Unfortunately, I've seen far too many a building's bones being revealed while it was being entirely dismantled.
Posted by designslinger at 7/30/2009 2:49 AM 
Categories: Architecture, Dictionary
Tags: 1200 N. Lake Shore Drive Gage Building Steel frame construction Champlain Building Chicago
Categories: Architecture, Dictionary
Tags: 1200 N. Lake Shore Drive Gage Building Steel frame construction Champlain Building Chicago
Comments