30 Rockefeller Plaza Buiding vs 32 Avenue of the Americas Building

Comparing the 30 Rockefeller Plaza Buiding and the 32 Avenue of the Americas Building is interesting because they both stand in New York, NY, and were completed just one year apart, 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.

The 30 Rockefeller Plaza Buiding is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 853ft (260m) with 70 floors above ground, while the 32 Avenue of the Americas Building reaches 430ft (131m) with 28 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 30 Rockefeller Plaza Buiding and the 32 Avenue of the Americas Building 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 both Howells & Hood and Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker 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 30 Rockefeller Plaza Buiding and the 32 Avenue of the Americas 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.

Both the 30 Rockefeller Plaza Buiding and the 32 Avenue of the Americas 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 Masonry facade.

A masonry facade gives the building a heavier, more traditional appearance. It often conceals a frame structure behind it, creating the look of solid walls without carrying the main loads.