Grand Plaza I Building vs One Chicago East Tower

Comparing the Grand Plaza I Building and the One Chicago East 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!

The One Chicago East Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 971ft (296m) with 77 floors above ground, while the Grand Plaza I Building reaches 641ft (195.4m) with 56 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 Grand Plaza I Building and the One Chicago East 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 One Chicago East Tower has remained primarily residential.

In terms of capacity, the Grand Plaza I Building offers 481 apartments, while the One Chicago East Tower provides 353 units.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with Grand Plaza I Building offering 1000 spaces and the One Chicago East Tower offering 1100.

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 One Chicago East 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 One Chicago East Tower uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.