Smith, Nancy Kimball Morris2024-09-042024-09-041971-08https://hdl.handle.net/1794/3006876 pagesThe American architect at the turn of the century faced the prodigious task of reconciling his traditional role as the servant of privilege with the exigencies of technological revolution, burgeoning cities, and a rapidly expanding industrial society. Capitalists needed factories and office buildings that would use expensive land with a maximum efficiency and a minimum waste. The use of steel and the availability of free vertical space suggested the skyscraper as the most expedient form the buildings should take. Most architects looked at these new structures, shuddered at their ugly crudeness, and, turning to Europe for their precedents, copied the buildings they found there. Engineers could have helped develop the relationship between technology and architecture. Instead, the architect regarded the engineer as a barbarian, and alienating himself from his time, took refuge in the classics.en-USCreative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0-USUO theses and dissertations are provided for research and educational purposes and may be under copyright by the author or the author’s heirs. Please contact us <mailto:scholars@uoregon.edu> with any questions or comments. In your email, please be sure to include the URL and title of the specific items of your inquiry.architectureWillcoxarchitectsocial criticismThesis / Dissertation