712 Fifth Avenue Building vs 200 Liberty Street Building

712 Fifth Avenue Building
200 Liberty Street Building

Comparing the 712 Fifth Avenue Building and the 200 Liberty Street Building is interesting because they both stand in New York, NY, and were completed within 4 years of each other, 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.

Height
198m
Floors
52

Height & Size

Height
176m
Floors
40

The 712 Fifth Avenue Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 650ft (198m) with 52 floors above ground, while the 200 Liberty Street Building reaches 577ft (176m) with 40 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
Postmodernism

Architectural Style

Style
Postmodernism

Both the 712 Fifth Avenue Building and the 200 Liberty Street Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Postmodernism style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and Cesar Pelli & Associates 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
Commercial

Both the 712 Fifth Avenue Building and the 200 Liberty Street 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 200 Liberty Street Building also provides 232 parking spaces.

Structure
Frame
Facade
Masonry

Structure & Facade

Structure
Frame
Facade
Curtain Wall

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 712 Fifth Avenue Building uses a Masonry facade, while the 200 Liberty Street Building uses a Curtain Wall facade.

A Masonry facade like the one seen in the 712 Fifth Avenue Building features a heavy masonry skin that gives it a more clasical look, while a curtain-wall facade like the one seen in the 200 Liberty Street Building uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.

712 Fifth Avenue Building 200 Liberty Street Building
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates Architect Cesar Pelli & Associates
1988 Construction Started 1984
1990 Year Completed 1986
Postmodernism Architectural Style Postmodernism
Commercial Current Use Commercial
52 Floors Above Ground 40
198 m Height (m) 176 m
43,900 m² Usable Area (m²) 151,200 m²
10 Number of Elevators 23
Frame Structure Type Frame
Steel Vertical Structure Material Steel
Concrete And Steel Horizontal Structure Material Concrete And Steel
Yes Facade Structural? No
Marble, Limestone Granite, Aluminium Main Facade Material Aluminum, Glass, Granite
Jaros Baum & Bolles MEP Engineer WSP Flack + Kurtz
Severud Associates Consulting Engineers Structural Engineer M.S. Yolles & Partners
NY State NY
New York City New York
712 Fifth Avenue Address 200 Liberty Street