Sullivan’s Eagle: Form and Function Artistically Considered

The nature of the relationship between function and form was most famously postulated by Louis Sullivan at the end of the nineteenth century, yet the ramifications of “architecture’s double code of beauty and utility” continue to be debated. The problem with Sullivan’s formulation is not that it isn’t true (it is, in fact, often true for building elements). Rather, as this paper argues, two related objections can be raised: first, that Sullivan’s defense of his proposition on the basis of biological and inorganic analogies is flawed; and, second, that his writings promote a formal agenda by invoking a few functional considerations while strategically ignoring many others. Like many theories of architecture, Sullivan’s formulation carries a not-so-hidden agenda: to explain (justify) a formal preference on the basis of an incomplete, selective, and often self-serving functional analysis.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.AM.108.83

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ISBN
978-1-944214-26-5