Americas Tower vs 225 Liberty Street Building

Americas Tower
225 Liberty Street Building

Comparing the Americas Tower and the 225 Liberty Street Building is interesting because they both stand in New York, NY, and were completed within 5 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
211m
Floors
48

Height & Size

Height
197m
Floors
44

The Americas Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 692ft (211m) with 48 floors above ground, while the 225 Liberty Street Building reaches 646ft (197m) with 44 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 Americas Tower and the 225 Liberty Street Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Postmodernism style.

The Americas Tower was designed at a moment when the Postmodernism style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the 225 Liberty Street Building style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the 225 Liberty Street Building was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

Main use
Commercial

Uses

Main use
Commercial

Both the Americas Tower and the 225 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 225 Liberty Street Building also provides 800 parking spaces.

Structure
Frame
Facade
Curtain Wall

Structure & Facade

Structure
Frame
Facade
Curtain Wall

Both the Americas Tower and the 225 Liberty Street 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.

Americas Tower 225 Liberty Street Building
Swanke Hayden Connell Architects Architect Cesar Pelli & Associates
1989 Construction Started 1985
1992 Year Completed 1987
Postmodernism Architectural Style Postmodernism
Commercial Current Use Commercial
48 Floors Above Ground 44
211 m Height (m) 197 m
86,771 m² Usable Area (m²) 231,421 m²
Frame Structure Type Frame
Steel Vertical Structure Material Steel
Concrete And Steel Horizontal Structure Material Concrete And Steel
No Facade Structural? No
Granite, Glass Main Facade Material Granite, Glass, Aluminium
Americas Tower Partners Developer Brookfield Properties
Thornton Tomasetti Structural Engineer Thornton Tomasetti
NY State NY
New York City New York
1177 6th Avenue Address 225 Liberty Street