Aqua Tower vs One Chicago East Tower

Comparing the Aqua Tower and the One Chicago East Tower is interesting because they both rise in Chicago, IL, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Studio Gang Architects and Goettsch Partners , 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 Chicago across time.

Let's take a closer look!

These two towers present an interesting contrast in their proportions. The One Chicago East Tower rises higher at 971ft (296m), while the Aqua Tower reaches 859ft (261.8m). However, the Aqua Tower accommodates more floors with 82 levels above ground, compared to 77 floors in the One Chicago East Tower.

This suggests different approaches to interior space design. The One Chicago East Tower has an average floor-to-floor height of approximately 3.8m, while the Aqua Tower has more compact floors averaging around 3.2m each. The taller building's more generous floor heights might indicate grander interior spaces, higher ceilings, or different programmatic requirements.

These different proportions likely reflect the specific needs each building was designed to serve, whether driven by zoning regulations, client requirements, or the intended use of the spaces within. The contrast shows how architects can achieve different spatial experiences even when working with similar overall building scales.

Both the Aqua Tower and the One Chicago East Tower 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 Studio Gang Architects and Goettsch Partners followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The Aqua Tower follows a mixed-use model, combining commercial, residential, hotel and parking. In contrast, the One Chicago East Tower has remained primarily residential.

The Aqua Tower incorporates a -star hotel with 225 rooms.

In terms of capacity, the Aqua Tower offers 739 apartments, while the One Chicago East Tower provides 353 units.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with Aqua Tower offering 1557 spaces and the One Chicago East Tower offering 1100.

The two buildings opted for different structural and facade solutions.

The Aqua Tower uses a Framed Tube In Tube system, which combines a strong central core with a perimeter tube of columns, while the One Chicago East Tower uses a Frame system, that relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight.

And when it came to the facade, the Window Wall went with a Window Wall facade, which uses panels fitted between floor slabs, leaving slab edges visible, while the One Chicago East Tower opted for a Curtain Wall facade, that uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.