These were the famous words of an American architect of the late 19 th century, Louis Henri Sullivan. Sullivan was born in Boston in 1856, studied architecture at MIT and in Paris, then moved to Chicago in 1881 to start his architectural design and construction business. His timing was perfect since much of Chicago needed to be rebuilt following the famous Chicago Fire of 1871. Sullivan s buildings, though beautiful, reflected his belief that design and ornamentation should derive from a building s function.
Form follows function.
You erect a structure because it is needed to serve some purpose. You want to increase profits and reduce costs of production, so you build a new farrowing house which is designed to efficiently yield more pigs for less fuel, water, electricity and man hours . Because you are concerned about pollution, you also build in features that appropriately manage waste. Form follows function. Built to be level with the main floor of our church, people of all ability levels will be able to get in and take part in activities there.