Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Louis Henri Sullivan

Louis Henri Sullivan

8.2
An American architect best known for early steel-framed skyscrapers and the phrase form follows function
  • proper noun
  • /luːɪs hənˈriː sʌlɪvən/
: Louis Henri Sullivan
  • The phrase 'form follows function' is famously attributed to Louis Henri Sullivan.

Examples

  • The designs of Louis Henri Sullivan greatly influenced modern American architecture.

  • The famous architect Louis Henri Sullivan changed the skyline of Chicago.

  • Louis Henri Sullivan is often called the 'father of skyscrapers' due to his innovative building techniques.

  • Did you know that Louis Henri Sullivan coined the phrase 'form follows function'?

  • Louis Henri Sullivan is often called the 'father of skyscrapers' due to his innovative building techniques.

  • The designs of Louis Henri Sullivan greatly influenced modern American architecture.

  • The phrase 'form follows function' is famously attributed to Louis Henri Sullivan.

Synonyms

Louis Sullivan
vsLouis Henri Sullivan
2 7.4

An American architect who designed early tall buildings with steel frames and said 'form follows function'

is the formal full-name form rather than the short version
Louis Henry Sullivan
vsLouis Henri Sullivan
7.9

An American architect who designed early steel skyscrapers and said 'form follows function'

is the same person but with the original middle-name spelling

Surface Forms

Louis Henri Sullivan main

Morphology

Louis + Henri + Sullivan

This is a full personal name (a proper noun); knowing the constituent names 'Louis', 'Henri', and 'Sullivan' does not reveal that the referent is a US architect or the biographical dates. Proper names are referential and require encyclopedic/world knowledge rather than compositional decoding, so the meaning cannot be derived from the parts.

Etymology

Louis Henri Sullivan was an American architect who helped invent the modern skyscraper by using strong steel frames to make very tall buildings. He said the shape of a building should show its purpose with the saying 'form follows function', so we remember him for modern, practical building design.