Grant Thornton Tower vs One Vanderbilt

Comparing the Grant Thornton Tower and the One Vanderbilt is compelling because they were both designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, yet they stand in different cities (Chicago, IL and New York, NY), and were completed over two decades 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 One Vanderbilt is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 1401ft (427m) with 67 floors above ground, while the Grant Thornton Tower reaches 755ft (230m) with 50 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.

The Grant Thornton Tower was designed in the Postmodernism style, while the One Vanderbilt reflects the principles of Contemporary.

The Grant Thornton Tower represents a late expression of the Postmodernism, a style already in decline in 1992 when it was completed. By contrast, the One Vanderbilt followed the then mainstream Contemporary, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

With 28 years between them, the comparison also reflects how quickly architectural priorities can shift from one dominant language to another.

Both the Grant Thornton Tower and the One Vanderbilt were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

The two towers rely on different structural systems, reflecting distinct engineering strategies.

The Grant Thornton Tower uses a Frame structural system, which relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight, while the One Vanderbilt uses a Trussed Frame system, that uses diagonal bracing in addition to beams and columns for stability.

Yet, when it comes to their facade, they both employed the same solution, 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.