North Harbor Tower vs 55 East Erie Street Building

Comparing the North Harbor Tower and the 55 East Erie Street Building is particularly interesting because they share the same skyline in Chicago, IL, and were both designed by Fujikawa Johnson & Associates. However, they were completed more than 16 years apart.

This offers a unique perspective on how the architect's style and the city's architecture evolved over time.

The 55 East Erie Street Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 647ft (197.2m) with 56 floors above ground, while the North Harbor Tower reaches 554ft (169m) with 55 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.

The North Harbor Tower was designed in the Postmodernism style, while the 55 East Erie Street Building reflects the principles of Contemporary.

At the time of their completion, both styles were well established. This makes the comparison especially interesting, because both buildings represent a dominant aesthetic at a particular point in time.

Both the North Harbor Tower and the 55 East Erie Street Building were designed to serve as residential towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

In terms of capacity, the North Harbor Tower offers 600 apartments, while the 55 East Erie Street Building provides 194 units.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with North Harbor Tower offering 404 spaces and the 55 East Erie Street Building offering 425.

Both towers share the same structural solution, a Frame 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.

However, when it comes to the facade, both buildings use different approaches. The North Harbor Tower uses a Window Wall facade, while the 55 East Erie Street Building uses a Modular facade.

A Window Wall facade like the one seen in the North Harbor Tower uses panels fitted between floor slabs, leaving slab edges visible, while a modular facade like the one seen in the 55 East Erie Street Building employs prefabricated panels, often mixing solid surfaces with smaller windows.