Much like a hall of carnival mirrors, the streets of central business districts are lined with facades of glass that reflect and distort each other. When massive structures with glass retaining walls are lined up alongside each other in such numbers they create a "funhouse" effect on a scale that would put Barnum and Bailey to shame. This distortion is supremely prevalent in the Chicago loop, which is in fact the birthplace of the plate glass building.
The first skyscraper whose surface was more than half glass was the Reliance Building, built at the corner of State St. and Washington St. in 1895. At the time Chicago was a center of architectural and structural innovation; the introduction of plate glass and steel structural frames meant that the exterior of a structure could be fitted with unprecedented amounts of glass. This was because the interior steel frame alone carried the weight of the structure; the exterior was free to be constructed with any material(s). The spaces between the large glass panes were filled with decorative terra cotta, in the style of the times (after Chicago's Great Fire in 1871 many buildings were built with this fireproofing measure).
The Reliance Building has a remarkable lightness and modernity in its construction that I suspect can only be experienced in person. However, I thought it might be interesting to see its plate glass descendants reflected in its windows, and vice versa. It's certainly a rare opportunity to have the first of its kind in dialogue with its successors.
The first skyscraper whose surface was more than half glass was the Reliance Building, built at the corner of State St. and Washington St. in 1895. At the time Chicago was a center of architectural and structural innovation; the introduction of plate glass and steel structural frames meant that the exterior of a structure could be fitted with unprecedented amounts of glass. This was because the interior steel frame alone carried the weight of the structure; the exterior was free to be constructed with any material(s). The spaces between the large glass panes were filled with decorative terra cotta, in the style of the times (after Chicago's Great Fire in 1871 many buildings were built with this fireproofing measure).
The Reliance Building has a remarkable lightness and modernity in its construction that I suspect can only be experienced in person. However, I thought it might be interesting to see its plate glass descendants reflected in its windows, and vice versa. It's certainly a rare opportunity to have the first of its kind in dialogue with its successors.
Central Business District as Carnival Hall of Mirrors
The Reliance Building Reflected
The Reliance Building
The Reliance Building Reflecting
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