28 Liberty Street Building vs 277 Park Avenue Building

28 Liberty Street Building
277 Park Avenue Building

Comparing the 28 Liberty Street Building and the 277 Park Avenue Building is interesting because they both stand in New York, NY, and were completed within 3 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
248m
Floors
60

Height & Size

Height
209m
Floors
50

The 28 Liberty Street Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 814ft (248m) with 60 floors above ground, while the 277 Park Avenue Building reaches 686ft (209m) with 50 floors above ground.

28 Liberty Street Building also offers more total built-up area, a total fo 2,240,000 sqf (208,103m2), which is about 472,503 sqf (43,897m2) more than what the 277 Park Avenue Building offers.

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
International Style

Architectural Style

Style
International Style

Both the 28 Liberty Street Building and the 277 Park Avenue Building 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 Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Emery Roth & Sons 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
Commercial

Both the 28 Liberty Street Building and the 277 Park Avenue 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 277 Park Avenue Building also provides 40 parking spaces.

Structure
Frame
Facade
Curtain Wall

Structure & Facade

Structure
Frame
Facade
Curtain Wall

Both the 28 Liberty Street Building and the 277 Park Avenue 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 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.

28 Liberty Street Building 277 Park Avenue Building
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Architect Emery Roth & Sons
1957 Construction Started 1962
1961 Year Completed 1964
International Style Architectural Style International Style
Commercial Current Use Commercial
60 Floors Above Ground 50
248 m Height (m) 209 m
208103 Built-up Area (m²) 164206
Frame Structure Type Frame
Concrete And Steel Vertical Structure Material Steel
Concrete Horizontal Structure Material Concrete And Steel
Yes Facade Structural? No
Aluminum, Glass Main Facade Material Glass, Steel
Chase Manhattan Bank N.A. Developer Stanley Stahl
Jaros Baum & Bolles MEP Engineer Jaros Baum & Bolles
NY State NY
New York City New York
28 Liberty Street Address 277 Park Avenue