W.W. Orr Building

The W.W. Orr Building is an Art-deco skyscraper designed by Pringle and Smith, and built in 1930 in Atlanta, GA.

W.W. Orr Building is not the only name you might know this building by though. It is common for companies to want to attach their names to iconic buildings when they move in, or for the general public to come up with nicknames, and this one is no exception. The W.W. Orr Building is also known, or has been known as, W.W.Orr Medical Building, or W.W.Orr Doctor's Building.

Its precise street address is 478 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA. You can also find it on the map here.

The building has been restored 2 times over the years to ensure its conservation and adaptation to the pass of time. The main restoration works happened in 1946 and 1964.

Pringle and Smith was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design.

The W.W. Orr Building can be categorized as an Art-deco building.

The W.W. Orr Building was completed in 1930, right when the Art Deco movement was at its peak, so it kind of went with the trend at that time.

The W.W. Orr Building uses a frame structure made of steel columns and concrete slabs.

A frame structure uses a combination of beams and columns to sustain the building's weight. The walls in this case are non-load bearing, which allows for more flexibility when distributing the interior spaces.

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features brick columns that run vertically from top to bottom of the builidng, accentuating it's verticallity, with spandrels decorated with corrugated patters between windows. The spandrels of the first floor are particularly interesting, as they feature relief panels taht illsutrate the building's use. The main entrance is framed with dark polished granite.

Other materials found at the W.W. Orr Building include, bronze, found in main entrance door frames, and black metal, used for decorative motifs in elevator doors.