Onterie Center vs 155 Harbor Condominium

Comparing the Onterie Center and the 155 Harbor Condominium is interesting because they both rise in Chicago, IL, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Solomon Cordwell Buenz, 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 Chicago across time.

Let's take a closer look!

The Onterie Center is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 571ft (174m) with 60 floors above ground, while the 155 Harbor Condominium reaches 551ft (168m) with 54 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 Onterie Center and the 155 Harbor Condominium were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Modern style.

Both buildings were completed when the Modern style was already past its peak. This makes them feel like late echoes of the movement, more reflective of continuity or nostalgia than of cutting-edge design at the time.

The Onterie Center follows a mixed-use model, combining residential, commercial, retail and hotel. In contrast, the 155 Harbor Condominium has remained primarily residential.

The Onterie Center incorporates a -star hotel with 101 rooms. More information is available at the official website.

In terms of capacity, the Onterie Center offers 594 apartments, while the 155 Harbor Condominium provides 742 units.

The Onterie Center also provides 363 parking spaces.

The two buildings opted for different structural and facade solutions.

The Onterie Center uses a Trussed Tube system, which , while the 155 Harbor Condominium uses a Frame system, that relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight.

And when it came to the facade, the Masonry went with a Masonry facade, which features a heavy masonry skin that gives it a more clasical look, while the 155 Harbor Condominium opted for a Curtain Wall facade, that uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.