Empire State Building vs 20 Exchange Place Building

Comparing the Empire State Building and the 20 Exchange Place Building is interesting because they both stand in New York, NY, and were completed in the same year, 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 Empire State Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 1250ft (381m) with 102 floors above ground, while the 20 Exchange Place Building reaches 774ft (236m) with 57 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 Empire State Building and the 20 Exchange Place 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 Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and Cross & Cross followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The Empire State Building is primarily commercial, while the 20 Exchange Place Building is primarily residential.

Originally, the 20 Exchange Place Building was designed for commercial, but over time it was converted to residential. The Empire State Building by contrast has maintained its original role.

The 20 Exchange Place Building offers 762 residential units.

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