Carson, Pierre, Scott Building (Sullivan Building)

The Carson, Pierre, Scott Building (formally known as the Sullivan Building) was originally designed by Louis Sullivan. The building was set to be one of the first modern retail stores to ever be built. He created the idea of adding familiar aesthetics to the ground floor of his loftily designed buildings to satiate people's fears. At this time, the general pubic was not accustomed to such towering structures; however, Sullivan's plan to decorate to people's mood worked. In 1899, a small revolution happened in Chicago. Prior to this time, people had to order products online and wait several months to get their product. The emergence of shopping for leisure became part of the American culture as soon as the building opened up! Generally, people take shopping for granted but this is natural. We grew up with it! Imagine a world where it didn't exist like it does now--pretty tough isn't it? This is why it is difficult to grasp the importance of this building. 

Louis Sullivan's Philosophy was that of "form follows function." Each floor in this building is maximized to fit as many products as possible; furthermore, he indirectly created panels do display objects to people on the street--again, very typical for us, but completely new to people back then. I doubt he was the first person to invent the concept of window shopping, but it worked. 

This building can absolutely be tied to a modern day shopping mall. Think about it, everything Louis Sullivan thought of can be seen in large retails stores today! Modern day-familar architecture, plants, pretty aesthetics, window shopping, and everything! 

I used the picture of the mall from my hometown. People think it's lame, but I like it. I'm sure the folks in the 20th century would be blown away!

http://2c2f06a14a9ade4267e6-fb8aac3b3bf42afe824f73b606f0aa4c.r92.cf1.rackcdn.com/propertythumbs/212/broadway-square-01.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Carson_Pirie_Scott_building%2C_Chicago%2C_Illinois_-_Louis_Sullivan.jpg