• Be the best example of an architectural style or significant development in engineering

Wainwright Building, St. Louis, MO

This 10-story, iron-and-steel-framed office building, pivotal in the history of tall building design and construction, was built in 1890-1891 from designs by Louis Sullivan. Before the Wainwright, surfaces of tall buildings had been covered with architectural cliches that bore no relation to their structure. Here Sullivan articulated a tripartite division of base, shaft, and capital, that – with carefully orchestrated fenestration patterns and rhythm of piers and spandrels – masterfully reflects and respects the metal-frame skeleton beneath.

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