200 West Street Building vs 71 South Wacker Building

Comparing the 200 West Street Building and the 71 South Wacker Building is an interesting exercise, because even though they are located in different cities (New York, NY and Chicago, IL), both were designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and finished within within 5 years of each other. This gives us the chance to see how the same architect's ideas were expressed in different urban contexts almost simultaneously.

These two towers present an interesting contrast in their proportions. The 200 West Street Building rises higher at 741ft (226m), while the 71 South Wacker Building reaches 679ft (207.1m). However, the 71 South Wacker Building accommodates more floors with 48 levels above ground, compared to 45 floors in the 200 West Street Building.

This suggests different approaches to interior space design. The 200 West Street Building has an average floor-to-floor height of approximately 5m, while the 71 South Wacker Building has more compact floors averaging around 4.3m each. The taller building's more generous floor heights might indicate grander interior spaces, higher ceilings, or different programmatic requirements.

These different proportions likely reflect the specific needs each building was designed to serve, whether driven by zoning regulations, client requirements, or the intended use of the spaces within. The contrast shows how architects can achieve different spatial experiences even when working with similar overall building scales.

Both the 200 West Street Building and the 71 South 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 Pei Cobb Freed & 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 200 West Street Building and the 71 South 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.

The 71 South Wacker Building also provides 163 parking spaces.

The two towers rely on different structural systems, reflecting distinct engineering strategies.

The 200 West Street Building uses a Trussed Frame structural system, which uses diagonal bracing in addition to beams and columns for stability, while the 71 South Wacker Building uses a Framed Tube In Tube system, that combines a strong central core with a perimeter tube of columns.

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.