731 Lexington Avenue Building vs One Vanderbilt

Comparing the 731 Lexington Avenue Building and the One Vanderbilt is interesting because they both rise in New York, NY, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, César Pelli & Associates and Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, 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!

The One Vanderbilt is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 1401ft (427m) with 67 floors above ground, while the 731 Lexington Avenue Building reaches 814ft (248m) with 54 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 731 Lexington Avenue Building and the One Vanderbilt were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Contemporary style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both César Pelli & Associates and Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The 731 Lexington Avenue Building follows a mixed-use model, combining residential, retail and commercial. In contrast, the One Vanderbilt has remained primarily commercial.

The 731 Lexington Avenue Building offers 105 residential units.

The two towers rely on different structural systems, reflecting distinct engineering strategies.

The 731 Lexington Avenue Building uses a Frame structural system, which relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight, while the One Vanderbilt uses a Trussed Frame system, that uses diagonal bracing in addition to beams and columns for stability.

Yet, when it comes to their facade, they both employed the same solution, 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.