Century Tower vs NBC Tower

Comparing the Century Tower and the NBC Tower is interesting because they both rise in Chicago, IL, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Thielbar & Fugard and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished over two decades 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!

The NBC Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 561ft (171m) with 37 floors above ground, while the Century Tower reaches 395ft (120.4m) with 28 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 Century Tower and the NBC Tower were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

The NBC Tower was designed at a moment when the Art Deco style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the Century Tower was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

The Century Tower is primarily residential, while the NBC Tower is primarily commercial.

Originally, the Century Tower was designed for commercial, but over time it was converted to residential. The NBC Tower by contrast has maintained its original role.

The Century Tower offers 292 residential units.

The NBC Tower also provides 261 parking spaces.

These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.