Chase Tower vs Promontory Apartments

Comparing the Chase Tower and the Promontory Apartments is interesting because they both rise in Chicago, IL, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Charles Murphy and Mies van der Rohe, 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 Chase Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 868ft (264.6m) with 61 floors above ground, while the Promontory Apartments reaches 218ft (66.5m) with 22 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 Chase Tower and the Promontory Apartments were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the International Style style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Charles Murphy and Mies van der Rohe followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The Chase Tower is primarily commercial, while the Promontory Apartments is primarily residential.

The Promontory Apartments offers 122 residential units.

Both the Chase Tower and the Promontory Apartments 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 Window Wall facade.

A window wall system is installed between floor slabs. It is simpler and faster to build than curtain walls, but exposes slab edges and requires careful detailing to avoid thermal bridges.