Fort Washington Plaza vs Coleman A. Young Municipal Center

Fort Washington Plaza
Coleman A. Young Municipal Center

Comparing the Fort Washington Plaza and the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center is interesting because they both rise in Detroit, MI, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Louis G. Redstone & Associates and Harley, Ellington and Day, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than a decade apart.

This contrast within the same city allows us to see how different creative minds interpreted the evolving needs of Detroit across time.

Let's take a closer look!

Height
60m
Floors
16

Height & Size

Height
97m
Floors
19

The Coleman A. Young Municipal Center is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 318ft (97m) with 19 floors above ground, while the Fort Washington Plaza reaches 197ft (60m) with 16 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.

Style
International Style

Architectural Style

Style
International Style

Both the Fort Washington Plaza and the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center 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 Louis G. Redstone & Associates and Harley, Ellington and Day followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

Main use
Commercial

Uses

Main use
Governmental

The Fort Washington Plaza is primarily commercial, while the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center is primarily governmental.

The Fort Washington Plaza also provides 524 parking spaces.

Structure
Frame
Facade
Curtain Wall

Structure & Facade

Structure
Frame
Facade

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

Fort Washington Plaza Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
Louis G. Redstone & Associates Architect Harley, Ellington and Day
1969 Year Completed 1954
International Style Architectural Style International Style
Commercial Current Use Governmental
16 Floors Above Ground 19
60 m Height (m) 97 m
Frame Structure Type Frame
Concrete Horizontal Structure Material Concrete
Yes Facade Structural? Yes
Glass, Concrete Main Facade Material Glass, Steel, Marble
MI State MI
Detroit City Detroit
333 West Fort Street Address 2 Woodward Avenue