111 Huntington Avenue Building vs One Congress Building

Comparing the 111 Huntington Avenue Building and the One Congress Building is interesting because they both rise in Boston, MA, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, CBT Architects and Pelli Clark & Partners, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished over two decades apart.

This contrast within the same city allows us to see how different creative minds interpreted the evolving needs of Boston across time.

Let's take a closer look!

The One Congress Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 646ft (197m) with 43 floors above ground, while the 111 Huntington Avenue Building reaches 554ft (169m) with 36 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 111 Huntington Avenue Building and the One Congress Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Contemporary style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both CBT Architects and Pelli Clark & Partners 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 111 Huntington Avenue Building and the One Congress Building were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

The One Congress Building also provides 1160 parking spaces.

The two towers rely on different structural systems, reflecting distinct engineering strategies.

The 111 Huntington Avenue Building uses a Frame structural system, which relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight, while the One Congress Building uses a Framed Tube In Tube system, that combines a strong central core with a perimeter tube of columns.

Yet, when it comes to their facade, they both employed the same solution, a Curtain Wall facade.

A curtain wall is a non-load-bearing facade hung from the structural frame. It is anchored to floor slabs and transfers only its own weight and wind loads, allowing for sleek, glassy exteriors.