Kindergarten Chats and Other Writings

by Louis H. Sullivan

"So remember, and bear ever in mind in your thinking and your doings, that FORM EVER FOLLOWS FUNCTION, that this is the law — a universal truth."
One of the foremost exponents of form-and-function architecture, and considered by many to be the father of the modern skyscraper, Louis Henri Sullivan (1856–1924) was one of America's most original and influential architects, and an extraordinarily important writer on the nature and function of architecture. Known for his many commercial buildings — Auditorium Building in Chicago (1889), Wainwright Building in St. Louis (1891), Prudential Building in Buffalo (1895), and Carson, Pirie and Scott Building in Chicago (1899 & 1903) — Sullivan is equally admired today for his two major The Autobiography of an Idea and Kindergarten Chats .
In this creative, seminal work, his theories about architecture, art, education, and life in general are presented in the form of dialogues, or "chats," between an architect and a novice. Sullivan's contempt for 19th-century eclectic architecture ("That the bulk of our architecture is rotten to the core, is a statement which does not admit of one solitary doubt"), his striving for a more functional approach, and his theory of the skyscraper are just a few of the principles and insights that emerge in these pages. As the architect and writer Claude Bragdon has " Kindergarten Chats remains in my memory as one of the most provocative, amusing, astounding, inspiring things that I have ever read."
This edition is the first low-priced reprint of the 1918 definitive edition of Kindergarten Chats , which was personally revised by Sullivan himself, who rewrote those chapters and generally streamlined the argument of the original version. Eight additional papers, covering the years 1885–1906, supplement the basic they include "Ornament in Architecture," "The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered," "The Young Man in Architecture," and "What is Architecture?" Architecture students, architects, artists, educators, and readers who enjoy the stimulus of a lively and iconoclastic mind will all be attracted by the magnetic power of this bold, thought-provoking book.

Genres: Architecture, Art

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

American architect of the Chicago School.

Reviews

[Pratik Kurtarkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the philosophies of architecture expressed in this book by Louis Sullivan. He explains his quote ' the form follows function' elaborately right from what is architecture, what is has been for the society, what it is and how it should be and for which how an architect as an individual should be through a way of dialogue, anecdotes, poetry, monologs and through his other written articles. A must read especially for budding architects.

[Bookamante]

I can't rate this book because it was so long ago and I was a very different person at that time when I read this book. I recall that his writings employ a large and colorful vocabulary but, unlike his brilliant architecture, the writings feel contrived. A book architects should read, however. Or in my case, re-read.

[Wayne David Hubbard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louis Sullivan was a master thinker and master teacher whose lessons have stood - both physically and figuratively - the test of time.

The range of his writings are prolific: poetry, scholarship, culture, democracy, knowledge, and the art of expression. This is a museum of thought within a single book.

One of the most profound books I have ever read.

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm hesitant about the 5 stars (I also read this for class).

[Kalil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soplo de inspiracion.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the first books that made me realize that it is nice to read what an architect has written but that it sometimes rather complicate the understanding of his work than helps in understanding it.

[Lp560_male]

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