1251 Avenue of the Americas Building vs Seagram Building

Comparing the 1251 Avenue of the Americas Building and the Seagram Building is interesting because they both rise in New York, NY, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Harrison, Abramovitz & Harris and Mies van der Rohe, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than a decade apart.

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

Let's take a closer look!

The 1251 Avenue of the Americas Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 751ft (229m) with 54 floors above ground, while the Seagram Building reaches 515ft (157m) with 38 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 1251 Avenue of the Americas Building and the Seagram Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the International Style style.

The 1251 Avenue of the Americas Building was designed at a moment when the International Style style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the Seagram Building style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the Seagram Building was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

Both the 1251 Avenue of the Americas Building and the Seagram 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 two towers rely on different structural systems, reflecting distinct engineering strategies.

The 1251 Avenue of the Americas Building uses a Trussed Frame structural system, which uses diagonal bracing in addition to beams and columns for stability, while the Seagram Building uses a Frame system, that relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight.

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.