Gas Company Tower vs Trump International Hotel and Tower

Comparing the Gas Company Tower and the Trump International Hotel and Tower is compelling because they were both designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, yet they stand in different cities (Los Angeles, CA and Chicago, IL), and were completed a decade apart.

What this will allow us to see, is how the same firm's approach adapted to different places in different periods of time.

The Trump International Hotel and Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 1181ft (360m) with 92 floors above ground, while the Gas Company Tower reaches 748ft (228m) with 52 floors above ground.

Despite being taller and having more floors, Trump International Hotel and Tower has less total built-up area than Gas Company Tower.

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.

The Gas Company Tower was designed in the Postmodernism style, while the Trump International Hotel and Tower 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 Trump International Hotel and Tower followed the then mainstream Contemporary, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

The Trump International Hotel and Tower follows a mixed-use model, combining hotel, residential and commercial. In contrast, the Gas Company Tower has remained primarily commercial.

The Trump International Hotel and Tower incorporates a 5-star hotel with 339 rooms. More information is available at the official website.

The Trump International Hotel and Tower offers 486 residential units.

The Trump International Hotel and Tower also provides 960 parking spaces.

Both the Gas Company Tower and the Trump International Hotel and Tower rely on a Frame structural 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.

They also employ the same type of facade, a Curtain Wall facade.

A curtain wall is a non-load-bearing facade hung from the structural frame. It is anchored to floor slabs and transfers only its own weight and wind loads, allowing for sleek, glassy exteriors.