Forever

From classical to modern, the collection of entries covered the entire breadth of architectural styles and approaches to skyscraper design. Although Loos's design did not win the competition, nor even receive one of fifty honorable mentions that were awarded, his design has remained one of the iconic images of the Chicago Tribune Tower competition. A single, colossal, twenty-one storey high Doric column of black granite was to rise out of an eleven storey cubical base, to reach to the full height of four hundred feet, a design Loos felt would be equally as monumental as it was distinctive.99 A few architects contributed plans that included solitary columns, including Paul Gerhardt and Mathew Freeman, but none of these entries possess the intrigue that surrounds Loos's design. Interpreted variously as ajoke, an allusion, and as a critique, Loos's proposal for an immense Doric column has been seen as incongruent with both his writing and previous designs. Part of the ambiguity surrounding the design lies in inconsistency between Loos's design of the Tribune column and with his reputation as a critic who fought for the removal of superfluous ornament in both architecture and everyday items. Despite the fact the Loos wrote a great deal, few of his writings were circulated outside of Vienna. Loos's disdain for ornament was widely known after the publication of his essay, "Ornament and Crime," in 1908. For Loos, ornament was a crime not for reasons of abstract moralism, but where it presented itself as a form of foolishness, useless repetition, or degeneration. 100 Though Loos was known for often using a sarcastic tone in his writing, many scholars question the seriousness of his design, which can be interpreted as one colossal ornament. Was Loos's column ajoke or a major miscalculation ofthe desires of American businessmen?