21 West Street Building vs Downtown Athletic Club

Comparing the 21 West Street Building and the Downtown Athletic Club is especially interesting because they share much in common. Both rise in New York, NY both were designed by Starrett & van Vleck, and they were completed just one year apart.

This overlap gives us a unique opportunity to understand how Starrett & van Vleck approached different commissions in the same urban context and historical context during a short period.

The Downtown Athletic Club is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 518ft (158m) with 35 floors above ground, while the 21 West Street Building reaches 374ft (114m) with 31 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 21 West Street Building and the Downtown Athletic Club 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 Starrett & van Vleck 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 21 West Street Building and the Downtown Athletic Club are primarily residential towers, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

However, both of them have shifted purpose since their completion. The 21 West Street Building evolved from commercial to residential, while the Downtown Athletic Club moved from sports to residential.

In terms of capacity, the 21 West Street Building offers 293 apartments, while the Downtown Athletic Club provides 283 units.

These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.