28 Liberty Street Building vs United Nations Secretariat Building

28 Liberty Street Building
United Nations Secretariat Building

Comparing the 28 Liberty Street Building and the United Nations Secretariat Building is interesting because they both rise in New York, NY, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Wallace Harrison, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than a decade apart.

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

Let's take a closer look!

Height
248m
Floors
60

Height & Size

Height
154m
Floors
39

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 United Nations Secretariat Building reaches 505ft (154m) with 39 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
International Style

Architectural Style

Style
International Style

Both the 28 Liberty Street Building and the United Nations Secretariat 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 Wallace Harrison 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
Governmental

The 28 Liberty Street Building is primarily commercial, while the United Nations Secretariat Building is primarily governmental.

The United Nations Secretariat Building also provides 1500 parking spaces.

Structure
Frame
Facade
Curtain Wall

Structure & Facade

Structure
Frame
Facade
Curtain Wall

Both the 28 Liberty Street Building and the United Nations Secretariat 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 United Nations Secretariat Building
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Architect Wallace Harrison
1955 Design Started 1947
1957 Construction Started 1949
1961 Year Completed 1951
International Style Architectural Style International Style
Commercial Current Use Governmental
60 Floors Above Ground 39
5 Floors Below Ground 3
248 m Height (m) 154 m
204,387 m² Usable Area (m²) 82,600 m²
Frame Structure Type Frame
Concrete And Steel Vertical Structure Material Steel
Concrete Horizontal Structure Material Reinforced Concrete
Yes Facade Structural? No
Aluminum, Glass Main Facade Material Glass, Marble
Isamu Noguchi, And Jean Dubuffet Collaborating Artist Per Krohg
NY State NY
New York City New York
28 Liberty Street Address 750 1st Avenue