CitySpire Building vs 200 Liberty Street Building

Comparing the CitySpire Building and the 200 Liberty Street Building is interesting because they both stand in New York, NY, and were completed within 4 years of each other, 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 CitySpire Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 814ft (248m) with 73 floors above ground, while the 200 Liberty Street Building reaches 577ft (176m) with 40 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 CitySpire Building and the 200 Liberty Street Building 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 Murphy/Jahn Architects and Cesar Pelli & Associates followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The CitySpire Building follows a mixed-use model, combining residential and commercial. In contrast, the 200 Liberty Street Building has remained primarily commercial.

The CitySpire Building offers 338 residential units.

The 200 Liberty Street Building also provides 232 parking spaces.

Both the CitySpire Building and the 200 Liberty Street 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 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.