150 North Riverside Building vs 155 North Wacker Building

Comparing the 150 North Riverside Building and the 155 North Wacker Building is particularly interesting because they share the same skyline in Chicago, IL, and were both designed by Goettsch Partners. However, they were completed more than 8 years apart.

This offers a unique perspective on how the architect's style and the city's architecture evolved over time.

The 150 North Riverside Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 725ft (221m) with 54 floors above ground, while the 155 North Wacker Building reaches 640ft (195m) with 45 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 150 North Riverside Building and the 155 North Wacker 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 Goettsch Partners followed what was in many ways expected at the time, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms rather, than breaking with convention.

Both the 150 North Riverside Building and the 155 North Wacker 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.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with 150 North Riverside Building offering 72 spaces and the 155 North Wacker Building offering 163.

Both the 150 North Riverside Building and the 155 North Wacker Building rely on a Framed Tube In Tube structural system.

A tube-in-tube system combines a reinforced central core with a perimeter of columns connected by floor slabs. This arrangement creates a stiff structure that resists both vertical and lateral forces efficiently.

They also employ the same type of facade, 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.