Faison Building vs One Enterprise Center

Comparing the Faison Building and the One Enterprise Center is an interesting exercise, because even though they are located in different cities (Milwaukee, WI and Jacksonville, FL), both were designed by Clark, Tribble, Harris, & Li and finished within within 3 years of each other. This gives us the chance to see how the same architect's ideas were expressed in different urban contexts almost simultaneously.

The Faison Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 495ft (151m) with 37 floors above ground, while the One Enterprise Center reaches 299ft (91m) with 22 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 Faison Building and the One Enterprise Center 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 Clark, Tribble, Harris, & Li and Clark Tribble Harris & Li followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

Both the Faison Building and the One Enterprise Center were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

The Faison Building also provides 410 parking spaces.

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 Faison Building uses a Masonry facade, while the One Enterprise Center uses a Curtain Wall facade.

A Masonry facade like the one seen in the Faison Building features a heavy masonry skin that gives it a more clasical look, while a curtain-wall facade like the one seen in the One Enterprise Center uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.