Palmolive Building vs Carbide & Carbon Building

Comparing the Palmolive Building and the Carbide & Carbon Building 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.

Both the Palmolive Building and the Carbide & Carbon Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Holabird & Root and Burnham Brothers followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The Palmolive Building is primarily residential, while the Carbide & Carbon Building is primarily hotel.

However, both of them have shifted purpose since their completion. The Palmolive Building evolved from commercial to residential, while the Carbide & Carbon Building moved from commercial to hotel.

The Carbide & Carbon Building incorporates a 4-star hotel with 396 rooms. More information is available at the official website.

The Palmolive Building offers 102 residential units.

Both the Palmolive Building and the Carbide & Carbon 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 Masonry facade.

A masonry facade gives the building a heavier, more traditional appearance. It often conceals a frame structure behind it, creating the look of solid walls without carrying the main loads.