55 Water Street Building vs Seagram Building

55 Water Street Building
Seagram Building

Comparing the 55 Water Street Building and the Seagram Building is interesting because they both rise in New York, NY, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Emery Roth & Sons and Mies van der Rohe, 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
209m
Floors
53

Height & Size

Height
157m
Floors
38

The 55 Water Street Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 686ft (209m) with 53 floors above ground, while the Seagram Building reaches 515ft (157m) with 38 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 55 Water Street Building and the Seagram Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the International Style style.

The 55 Water Street Building was designed at a moment when the International Style style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the Seagram Building style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the Seagram Building was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

Main use
Commercial

Uses

Main use
Commercial

Both the 55 Water Street Building and the Seagram 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 55 Water Street Building also provides 600 parking spaces.

Structure
Frame
Facade
Curtain Wall

Structure & Facade

Structure
Frame
Facade
Curtain Wall

Both the 55 Water Street Building and the Seagram 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.

55 Water Street Building Seagram Building
Emery Roth & Sons Architect Mies van der Rohe
1969 Construction Started 1955
1972 Year Completed 1958
International Style Architectural Style International Style
Commercial Current Use Commercial
53 Floors Above Ground 38
3 Floors Below Ground 3
209 m Height (m) 157 m
325,000 m² Usable Area (m²) 79,339 m²
71 Number of Elevators 18
Frame Structure Type Frame
Steel Vertical Structure Material Steel
Reinforced Concrete Horizontal Structure Material Reinforced Concrete
Yes Facade Structural? No
Concrete, Glass Main Facade Material Glass, Aluminum
Jaros Baum & Bolles MEP Engineer Jaros, Baum & Bolles
The Office Of James Ruderman Structural Engineer Severud Associates Consulting Engineers
NY State NY
New York City New York
55 Water Street Address 375 Park Ave