Prudential (Guaranty) Building (Buffalo, New York)

 office building, historical building, 1894_construction, U.S. National Historic Landmark

The Guaranty Building was designed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler in the early 1890s as a refinement of a previous design; St. Louis' Wainwright Building. Completed in 1894, the Guaranty Building was considered a prime example of Louis Sullivan's belief that "form follows function", and featured an innovative four zone vertical layout.

Below ground the buildings mechanical and utility area were hidden from public view, allowing the ground-floor zone and its public spaces, shops and lobbies to wrap the street-facing sides of the building. The third zone, consisting of the majority of the building, is the office floors with identical office cells clustered around the central elevator shafts. Capping the structure was the fourth and final zone which contained elevator equipment, utilities and a few offices. While a commonplace design today for modern office high-rises, this layout was still revolutionary for its time.

Externally, the building was clad in engraved terra cotta blocks, with different styles of block delineating the three visible zones of the building. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, the building was subsequently named a National Historic Landmark in 1975. Known today as the Prudential Building, it continues to house multiple business tenants.

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