--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The chief characteristics of the tall…" description: "\"The chief characteristics of the tall building is that it is lofty. It must be every inch a proud and soaring thing, rising in sheer exultation so that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/louis-sullivan-21857_bottom_the-chief-characteristics-of-the-tall-bu_1337806.jpg" --- # The chief characteristics of the tall building is that it… ![“The chief characteristics of the tall building is that it is lofty. It must be every inch a proud and soaring thing, rising in sheer exultation so that from bottom to top it should be a unit without a single dissenting line.” quote by Louis Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/louis-sullivan-21857_bottom_the-chief-characteristics-of-the-tall-bu_1337806.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/louis-sullivan-21857_bottom_the-chief-characteristics-of-the-tall-bu_1337806.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/louis-sullivan-21857_bottom_the-chief-characteristics-of-the-tall-bu_1337806.jpg) > “The chief characteristics of the tall building is that it is lofty. It must be every inch a proud and soaring thing, rising in sheer exultation so that from bottom to top it should be a unit without a single dissenting line.” [Louis Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sullivan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The building should be a unified, proud, soaring structure without any discordant elements. **In simple terms:** A tall building must be cohesive and majestic. Key Takeaway Design for harmony and grandeur. Themes architecture design unity pride verticality Mood awe inspirational reflective Type descriptive philosophical When to use this quote - urban planning - architectural critique - construction projects - city skylines Key Concepts Modernism organic architecture aesthetic unity Questions to Reflect On - How does unity affect a building's impact? - What compromises arise between aesthetics and practicality? A Different Perspective Balancing artistic vision with functional constraints can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Lofty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lofty/) [Proud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proud/) [Tall buildings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tall-buildings/) ## Related quotes > [The skyscraper and the twentieth century are synonymous; the tall building is the landmark of our age. ... 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Can we call a crow an eagle (garuda) simply because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/a-man-attains-greatness-by-his-merits-not-simply-by-occupying-an/) [Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/) > [There can be little question that the tall building presents one of the most difficult challenges to the architect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/there-can-be-little-question-that-the-tall-building-presents-one-of/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [I promise I will never even THINK about going up in a tall building again. Oh, God. 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A man was patching a pitched roof of a tall building when he began sliding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/as-a-boy-i-heard-this-story-in-church-a-man-was-patching-a-pitched/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [Today, from the bridge, the East River is sparkling. The money is swirling around the tall buildings like tides or like tithes, And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-lederer/today-from-the-bridge-the-east-river-is-sparkling-the-money-is/) [Katy Lederer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-lederer/) > [Moms are, in my opinion, the wonders of the universe. They can leap tall buildings in a single bound, they can go where no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-leman/moms-are-in-my-opinion-the-wonders-of-the-universe-they-can-leap-tall/) [Kevin Leman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-leman/) ## More by Louis Sullivan > [Happiness and depression cannot blossom on the same vine. Some people affirm their woes and beg for sympathy. Others, unfortunately, cast gloom wherever they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sullivan/happiness-and-depression-cannot-blossom-on-the-same-vine-some-people/) [Louis Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sullivan/) > [It cannot for a moment be doubted that an art work to be alive, to awaken us to its life, to inspire us sooner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sullivan/it-cannot-for-a-moment-be-doubted-that-an-art-work-to-be-alive-to/) [Louis Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sullivan/) > [It is the mass dream of inverted self, populous with fears overt and secret, that forms the continuous but gossamer thread upon which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sullivan/it-is-the-mass-dream-of-inverted-self-populous-with-fears-overt-and/) [Louis Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sullivan/) > [How strange it seems that education, in practice, so often means suppression: that instead of leading the mind outward to the light of day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sullivan/how-strange-it-seems-that-education-in-practice-so-often-means/) [Louis Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sullivan/) > [The architect who combines in his being the powers of vision, of imagination, of intellect, of sympathy with human need and the power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sullivan/the-architect-who-combines-in-his-being-the-powers-of-vision-of/) [Louis Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sullivan/) > [What are books but folly, and what is an education but an arrant hypocrisy, and what is art but a curse when they touch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sullivan/what-are-books-but-folly-and-what-is-an-education-but-an-arrant/) [Louis Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sullivan/) > [Form follows function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sullivan/form-follows-function/) [Louis Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sullivan/) > [National Health Insurance means combining the efficiency of the Postal Service with the compassion of the I.R.S. ... and the cost accounting of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sullivan/national-health-insurance-means-combining-the-efficiency-of-the/) [Louis Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sullivan/) > [If with open mind one reads and observes industriously and long; if in so doing one covers a wide field and so covering reflects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sullivan/if-with-open-mind-one-reads-and-observes-industriously-and-long-if-in/) [Louis Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sullivan/) > [To teach is to touch the heart and impel it to action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sullivan/to-teach-is-to-touch-the-heart-and-impel-it-to-action/) [Louis Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sullivan/) > [The feudal concept of self-preservation is poisoned at the core by the virulent assumption of master and man, of potentate and slave, of external…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sullivan/the-feudal-concept-of-self-preservation-is-poisoned-at-the-core-by/) [Louis Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sullivan/) > [Implicit in true freedom of spirit lies a proud and virile will. 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