For most of his sojourn upon earth, man built his houses, halls, castles and temples the way a child uses a set of building blocksthe walls support the roof. The age of the skyscraper demanded new methods and materials.
Chicago's 16-story Monadnock Building, built in 1891, required masonry 15 ft. thick at the base to support the crushing load. Such walls were made unnecessary by the so-called "curtain wall," hung from the building's frame. But since World War II, the architects' slang for a building's outer covering, "skin," has become especially appropriate; thin, lightweight metals and glass have turned more...
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