Crain Communications Building vs One Magnificent Mile Building

Comparing the Crain Communications Building and the One Magnificent Mile Building is interesting because they both stand in Chicago, IL, and were completed just one year apart, 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 One Magnificent Mile Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 673ft (205m) with 57 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 One Magnificent Mile 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 Skidmore, Owings & Merrill followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The One Magnificent Mile Building follows a mixed-use model, combining retail, commercial and residential. In contrast, the Crain Communications Building has remained primarily commercial.

The One Magnificent Mile Building offers 182 residential units.

Both towers share the same structural solution, a Frame 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.

However, when it comes to the facade, both buildings use different approaches. The Crain Communications Building uses a Curtain Wall facade, while the One Magnificent Mile Building uses a Modular facade.

A Curtain Wall facade like the one seen in the Crain Communications Building uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure, while a modular facade like the one seen in the One Magnificent Mile Building employs prefabricated panels, often mixing solid surfaces with smaller windows.