1001 Woodward vs 211 West Fort Street

Comparing the 1001 Woodward and the 211 West Fort Street is interesting because they both stand in Detroit, MI, and were completed within 2 years of each other, but they were designed by different architects.

This offers a unique glimpse at how rival designers approached projects in the same city during the same era.

The 211 West Fort Street is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 367ft (112m) with 27 floors above ground, while the 1001 Woodward reaches 338ft (103m) with 23 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 1001 Woodward and the 211 West Fort Street were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the International Style style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Smith, Hinchman & Grylls and Harley, Ellington, Cowin & Stirton followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

Both the 1001 Woodward and the 211 West Fort Street were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

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