Four Seasons Hotel New York vs 250 Vesey Street Building

Comparing the Four Seasons Hotel New York and the 250 Vesey Street Building is interesting because they both rise in New York, NY, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and César Pelli & Associates, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than 7 years apart.

This contrast within the same city allows us to see how different creative minds interpreted the evolving needs of New York across time.

Let's take a closer look!

The Four Seasons Hotel New York is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 682ft (208m) with 52 floors above ground, while the 250 Vesey Street Building reaches 499ft (152m) with 34 floors above ground.

Despite being taller and having more floors, Four Seasons Hotel New York has less total built-up area than 250 Vesey Street Building.

The Four Seasons Hotel New York also concentrates more floor area on its site, indicating a higher floor area ratio.

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 Four Seasons Hotel New York and the 250 Vesey Street Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Postmodernism style.

The Four Seasons Hotel New York was designed at a moment when the Postmodernism style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the 250 Vesey Street Building style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the 250 Vesey Street Building was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

The Four Seasons Hotel New York is primarily hotel, while the 250 Vesey Street Building is primarily commercial.

The Four Seasons Hotel New York incorporates a 5-star hotel with 368 rooms. More information is available at the official website.

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 Four Seasons Hotel New York uses a Masonry facade, while the 250 Vesey Street Building uses a Curtain Wall facade.

A Masonry facade like the one seen in the Four Seasons Hotel New York features a heavy masonry skin that gives it a more clasical look, while a curtain-wall facade like the one seen in the 250 Vesey Street Building uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.