Drury Plaza Hotel San Antonio Riverwalk vs Field Building

Comparing the Drury Plaza Hotel San Antonio Riverwalk and the Field Building is an interesting exercise, because even though they are located in different cities (San Antonio, TX and Chicago, IL), both were designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White and finished within within 4 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 Field Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 535ft (163.1m) with 45 floors above ground, while the Drury Plaza Hotel San Antonio Riverwalk reaches 279ft (85m) with 24 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 Drury Plaza Hotel San Antonio Riverwalk and the Field 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 Graham, Anderson, Probst & White followed what was in many ways expected at the time, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms rather, than breaking with convention.

The Drury Plaza Hotel San Antonio Riverwalk is primarily hotel, while the Field Building is primarily commercial.

However, both of them have shifted purpose since their completion. The Drury Plaza Hotel San Antonio Riverwalk evolved from commercial to hotel, while the Field Building moved from Office. Bank. Radio Station to commercial.

The Drury Plaza Hotel San Antonio Riverwalk incorporates a 4-star hotel with 306 rooms. More information is available at the official website.

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