Guardian Building vs Detroit Free Press Building

Comparing the Guardian Building and the Detroit Free Press Building is interesting because they both stand in Detroit, MI, 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 Guardian Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 495ft (151m) with 36 floors above ground, while the Detroit Free Press Building reaches 190ft (58m) with 14 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 Guardian Building and the Detroit Free Press Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Smith, Hinchman & Grylls and Albert Kahn 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 Guardian Building is primarily commercial, while the Detroit Free Press Building is primarily residential.

Originally, the Detroit Free Press Building was designed for commercial, but over time it was converted to residential. The Guardian Building by contrast has maintained its original role.

The Detroit Free Press Building offers 105 residential units.

The Detroit Free Press Building also provides 105 parking spaces.

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