190 South LaSalle Street vs 900 North Michigan Building

190 South LaSalle Street
900 North Michigan Building

Comparing the 190 South LaSalle Street and the 900 North Michigan Building is interesting because they both stand in Chicago, IL, and were completed within 2 years of each other, but they were designed by different architects.

This offers a unique glimpse at how rival designers approached projects in the same city during the same era.

Height
175m
Floors
40

Height & Size

Height
265.5m
Floors
66

The 900 North Michigan Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 871ft (265.5m) with 66 floors above ground, while the 190 South LaSalle Street reaches 574ft (175m) with 40 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.

Style
Postmodernism

Architectural Style

Style
Postmodernism

Both the 190 South LaSalle Street and the 900 North Michigan Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Postmodernism style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Johnson/Burgee Architects and Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

Main use
Commercial

Uses

Main use
Mixed

The 900 North Michigan Building follows a mixed-use model, combining retail, commercial, residential and hotel. In contrast, the 190 South LaSalle Street has remained primarily commercial.

The 900 North Michigan Building incorporates a 5-star hotel with rooms. More information is available at the official website.

The 900 North Michigan Building offers 106 residential units.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with 190 South LaSalle Street offering 55 spaces and the 900 North Michigan Building offering 1330.

Structure
Frame
Facade
Modular

Structure & Facade

Structure
Frame
Facade
Curtain Wall

Both towers share the same structural solution, a Frame 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.

However, when it comes to the facade, both buildings use different approaches. The 190 South LaSalle Street uses a Modular facade, while the 900 North Michigan Building uses a Curtain Wall facade.

A Modular facade like the one seen in the 190 South LaSalle Street employs prefabricated panels, often mixing solid surfaces with smaller windows, while a curtain-wall facade like the one seen in the 900 North Michigan Building uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.

190 South LaSalle Street 900 North Michigan Building
Johnson/Burgee Architects Architect Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
1985 Construction Started 1987
1987 Year Completed 1989
Postmodernism Architectural Style Postmodernism
Commercial Current Use Mixed
40 Floors Above Ground 66
175 m Height (m) 265.5 m
Frame Structure Type Frame
Steel Vertical Structure Material Steel And Concrete
Steel, Concrete Horizontal Structure Material Reinforced Concrete
No Facade Structural? Yes
Turner Construction Company Main Contractor J.A. Jones Construction
The John Buck Company Developer Urban Retail Properties
Cohen Barreto Marchertas Structural Engineer Alfred Benesch & Company
IL State IL
Chicago City Chicago
190 South LaSalle Street Address 900 N Michigan Avenue