How did Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright disagree with Daniel Burnham’s use of European Classical design?

Daniel Burnham was a central figure in the City Beautiful movement, which sought to improve American urban environments by incorporating Classical architecture and planning principles derived from European models, such as those found in Paris and Rome.123

Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright strongly disagreed with this approach. Their opposition was rooted in the following principles:2

• Rejection of Historical Eclecticism: Sullivan and Wright believed that borrowing from or replicating European historical styles was a false principle. They argued that architecture should not be a product of historical imitation but rather an expression of the specific civilization and environment that created it.24
• Invention of an American Style: Both architects sought to move away from European design to invent a new, truly American architectural language. Wright, for instance, famously refused an offer from Burnham to study in Europe, choosing instead to pursue a unique Midwestern architecture.25
• Organic Expression: Sullivan, known for his dictum that "form follows function," believed that design should evolve from a building's purpose and structural basis rather than being forced into a pre-existing Classical mold. He viewed the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893—a showcase of Burnham’s Classical planning—as a damaging rejection of the progressive, modern architecture developing in the Midwest.64