1616 Walnut Street Building vs Sun Oil Building

Comparing the 1616 Walnut Street Building and the Sun Oil Building is especially interesting because they share much in common. Both rise in Philadelphia, PA both were designed by Tilden, Register & Pepper, and they were completed just one year apart.

This overlap gives us a unique opportunity to understand how Tilden, Register & Pepper approached different commissions in the same urban context and historical context during a short period.

The 1616 Walnut Street Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 308ft (94m) with 24 floors above ground, while the Sun Oil Building reaches 230ft (70m) with 19 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 1616 Walnut Street Building and the Sun Oil Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So Tilden, Register & Pepper followed what was in many ways expected at the time, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms rather, than breaking with convention.

The 1616 Walnut Street Building is primarily residential, while the Sun Oil Building is primarily commercial.

Originally, the 1616 Walnut Street Building was designed for commercial, but over time it was converted to residential. The Sun Oil Building by contrast has maintained its original role.

The 1616 Walnut Street Building offers 220 residential units.

The 1616 Walnut Street Building also provides 160 parking spaces.

Both the 1616 Walnut Street Building and the Sun Oil Building rely on a Frame structural system.

A frame structure uses a grid of columns and beams to carry the building's loads. This frees the walls from structural duties, allowing for flexible floor plans and larger windows.

They also employ the same type of facade, a Masonry facade.

A masonry facade gives the building a heavier, more traditional appearance. It often conceals a frame structure behind it, creating the look of solid walls without carrying the main loads.