Transactions of the Architectural Institute of Japan
Online ISSN : 2433-0027
Print ISSN : 0387-1185
ISSN-L : 0387-1185
AN ESSAY ON DANIEL HUDSON BURNHAM (II)
AKIRA SATO
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1978 Volume 269 Pages 175-184

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Abstract
Following the former part, here at first, we observe Burnham's attitudes towards architectural styles. He was not a rigoristic Classicist as compared with, for instance, McKim. According to circumstances, he was sympathetic to the Gothic. Besides, he had interest in the new architectural tendencies till his latest days, too. He maintained private contacts not only with Sullivan and Wright but also with younger generation architects as George Maher. He could and did produce "Chicago School" architecture even in his last years. But request was rare simply. If there were any one notion applicable to Burnham's later works, it would be ambiguous, loose one, "Beautiful". Then, we investigate the situation of his office. His office produced great volume of works in about forty years. This was made possible by the haste of design work on the one hand, and the delegation system on the other hand. It goes without saying that the office itself was a large organization with about 180 staffs. In that, Burnham showed his innate administraive ability. He left off the old-fashioned notion of architect. In conclusion, it would be possible to say that, though he knew "rational" architecture, Burnham, produced old-aged and seemingly irrational style. But it was done from his clever eye. He accomplished his rationality in another field, namely architectectural design production, like those one geneaology of architects as James Wyatt, G. G. Scott and Albert Kahn.
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© 1978 Architectural Institute of Japan
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