Loft

Skyscrapers were still a relatively new building type in 1922 and were being constructed primarily in the United States. The Tribune competition gave architects from all over the world their first opportunity to try their hand at designing this new building type. Many of these architects had never seen the American skyscrapers first hand and lacked an understanding of how they functioned. Entries such as the one by the Italian architect, Saverio Dioguardi, with its hollow triumphal arch form, would not allow for easy flow or communication from one part of the building to another, nor would elevators be able to reach the uppermost floors. Although his design also seemed to posses some of the awkwardness of the foreign designs, Loos had first hand experience of American skyscrapers.

While in Chicago, Loos was exposed to the architecture of Louis Sullivan, the new skyscrapers buildings, and the 1893 World's Columbian Exhibition. In organizing the exposition, Daniel Burnham turned to the classical tradition for a common architectural language and theme on which to base their designs. 101 Also known as the White City, the majority of the buildings at the Columbian Exhibition were made of white stucco and illuminated at night by an intricate system of electronic lights. The use of the classical tradition on such a monumental scale would have not gone unnoticed by Loos and may have contributed to his use of classical elements in his own architecture.