59 West 12th Street Building vs 28 State Street Building

Comparing the 59 West 12th Street Building and the 28 State Street Building is compelling because they were both designed by Emery Roth & Sons, yet they stand in different cities (New York, NY and Boston, MA), and were completed over two decades apart.

What this will allow us to see, is how the same firm's approach adapted to different places in different periods of time.

The 28 State Street Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 499ft (152m) with 40 floors above ground, while the 59 West 12th Street Building reaches 0ft (m) with 17 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 59 West 12th Street Building was designed in the Art Deco style, while the 28 State Street Building reflects the principles of Modern.

The 28 State Street Building represents a late expression of the Modern, a style already in decline in 1970 when it was completed. By contrast, the 59 West 12th Street Building followed the then mainstream Art Deco, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

With 39 years between them, the comparison also reflects how quickly architectural priorities can shift from one dominant language to another.

The 59 West 12th Street Building is primarily residential, while the 28 State Street Building is primarily commercial.

The 59 West 12th Street Building offers 103 residential units.

The 28 State Street Building also provides 120 parking spaces.

These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.