32 Avenue of the Americas Building vs 1 Wall Street Building

Comparing the 32 Avenue of the Americas Building and the 1 Wall Street Building is especially interesting because they share much in common. Both rise in New York, NY both were designed by Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker, and they were completed just one year apart.

This overlap gives us a unique opportunity to understand how Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker approached different commissions in the same urban context and historical context during a short period.

The 1 Wall Street Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 653ft (199m) with 50 floors above ground, while the 32 Avenue of the Americas Building reaches 430ft (131m) with 28 floors above ground.

Of course, each project may have faced different briefs or regulatory constraints, which we don't really know about and could also explain the outcome.

Both the 32 Avenue of the Americas Building and the 1 Wall Street Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker followed what was in many ways expected at the time, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms rather, than breaking with convention.

The 32 Avenue of the Americas Building is primarily commercial, while the 1 Wall Street Building is primarily residential.

Originally, the 1 Wall Street Building was designed for commercial, but over time it was converted to residential. The 32 Avenue of the Americas Building by contrast has maintained its original role.

The 1 Wall Street Building offers 566 residential units.

These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.