Crain Communications Building vs 900 North Michigan Building

Comparing the Crain Communications Building and the 900 North Michigan Building is interesting because they both stand in Chicago, IL, and were completed within 5 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 900 North Michigan Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 871ft (265.5m) with 66 floors above ground, while the Crain Communications Building reaches 581ft (177m) with 41 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 Crain Communications Building and the 900 North Michigan 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 A.Epstein and Sons International and Kohn Pedersen Fox 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 900 North Michigan Building follows a mixed-use model, combining retail, commercial, residential and hotel. In contrast, the Crain Communications Building has remained primarily commercial.

The 900 North Michigan Building incorporates a 5-star hotel with rooms. More information is available at the official website.

The 900 North Michigan Building offers 106 residential units.

The 900 North Michigan Building also provides 1330 parking spaces.

Both the Crain Communications Building and the 900 North Michigan 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.