Grand Plaza I Building vs BMO Tower

Comparing the Grand Plaza I Building and the BMO Tower is interesting because they both rise in Chicago, IL, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Loewenberg + Associates and Goettsch Partners , and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than a decade apart.

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

Let's take a closer look!

These two towers present an interesting contrast in their proportions. The BMO Tower rises higher at 728ft (222m), while the Grand Plaza I Building reaches 641ft (195.4m). However, the Grand Plaza I Building accommodates more floors with 56 levels above ground, compared to 51 floors in the BMO Tower.

This suggests different approaches to interior space design. The BMO Tower has an average floor-to-floor height of approximately 4.4m, while the Grand Plaza I Building has more compact floors averaging around 3.5m 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.

Both the Grand Plaza I Building and the BMO Tower were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Contemporary style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Loewenberg + Associates and Goettsch Partners followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The Grand Plaza I Building follows a mixed-use model, combining residential, retail and parking. In contrast, the BMO Tower has remained primarily commercial.

The Grand Plaza I Building offers 481 residential units.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with Grand Plaza I Building offering 1000 spaces and the BMO Tower offering 324.

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 Grand Plaza I Building uses a Modular facade, while the BMO Tower uses a Curtain Wall facade.

A Modular facade like the one seen in the Grand Plaza I Building employs prefabricated panels, often mixing solid surfaces with smaller windows, while a curtain-wall facade like the one seen in the BMO Tower uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.