Boeing International Headquarters vs Two Prudential Plaza

Comparing the Boeing International Headquarters and the Two Prudential Plaza is interesting because they both stand in Chicago, IL, and were completed in the same year, 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.

The Two Prudential Plaza is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 994ft (303m) with 64 floors above ground, while the Boeing International Headquarters reaches 561ft (171m) with 36 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 Boeing International Headquarters and the Two Prudential Plaza 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 Perkins and Will and Loebl, Schlossman & Hackl followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

Both the Boeing International Headquarters and the Two Prudential Plaza were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with Boeing International Headquarters offering 435 spaces and the Two Prudential Plaza offering 325.

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

The Boeing International Headquarters uses a Frame structural system, which relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight, while the Two Prudential Plaza uses a Framed Tube In Tube system, that combines a strong central core with a perimeter tube of columns.

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.