Gas Company Tower vs 383 Madison Avenue Building

Comparing the Gas Company Tower and the 383 Madison Avenue Building is compelling because they were both designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, yet they stand in different cities (Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY), and were completed a decade apart.

What this will allow us to see, is how the same firm's approach adapted to different places at roughly the same time (10 years isn't that much time when it comes to urban context and architecture).

These two towers present an interesting contrast in their proportions. The 383 Madison Avenue Building rises higher at 755ft (230m), while the Gas Company Tower reaches 748ft (228m). However, the Gas Company Tower accommodates more floors with 52 levels above ground, compared to 47 floors in the 383 Madison Avenue Building.

This suggests different approaches to interior space design. The 383 Madison Avenue Building has an average floor-to-floor height of approximately 4.9m, while the Gas Company Tower has more compact floors averaging around 4.4m each. The taller building's more generous floor heights might indicate grander interior spaces, higher ceilings, or different programmatic requirements.

These different proportions likely reflect the specific needs each building was designed to serve, whether driven by zoning regulations, client requirements, or the intended use of the spaces within. The contrast shows how architects can achieve different spatial experiences even when working with similar overall building scales.

The Gas Company Tower was designed in the Postmodernism style, while the 383 Madison Avenue Building reflects the principles of Contemporary.

The Gas Company Tower represents a late expression of the Postmodernism, a style already in decline in 1991 when it was completed. By contrast, the 383 Madison Avenue Building followed the then mainstream Contemporary, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

Both the Gas Company Tower and the 383 Madison Avenue Building were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

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 Gas Company Tower uses a Curtain Wall facade, while the 383 Madison Avenue Building uses a Modular facade.

A Curtain Wall facade like the one seen in the Gas Company Tower uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure, while a modular facade like the one seen in the 383 Madison Avenue Building employs prefabricated panels, often mixing solid surfaces with smaller windows.