Fort Washington Plaza vs 211 West Fort Street

Comparing the Fort Washington Plaza and the 211 West Fort Street is interesting because they both rise in Detroit, MI, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Louis G. Redstone & Associates and Harley, Ellington, Cowin & Stirton, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than 6 years apart.

This contrast within the same city allows us to see how different creative minds interpreted the evolving needs of Detroit across time.

Let's take a closer look!

The 211 West Fort Street is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 367ft (112m) with 27 floors above ground, while the Fort Washington Plaza reaches 197ft (60m) with 16 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 Fort Washington Plaza and the 211 West Fort Street were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the International Style style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Louis G. Redstone & Associates and Harley, Ellington, Cowin & Stirton followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

Both the Fort Washington Plaza and the 211 West Fort Street 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 Fort Washington Plaza also provides 524 parking spaces.

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