Guardian Building vs Fisher Building


Comparing the Guardian Building and the Fisher Building is interesting because they both stand in Detroit, MI, and were completed just one year apart, but they were designed by different architects.
This offers a unique glimpse at how rival designers approached projects in the same city during the same era.
Height & Size
The Guardian Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 495ft (151m) with 36 floors above ground, while the Fisher Building reaches 443ft (135m) with 30 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.
Architectural Style
Both the Guardian Building and the Fisher Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.
At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Smith, Hinchman & Grylls and Albert Kahn Associates followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.
Uses
Both the Guardian Building and the Fisher 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.
The Fisher Building also provides 964 parking spaces.
Structure & Facade
These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.
Guardian Building | Fisher Building | |
---|---|---|
Smith, Hinchman & Grylls | Architect | Albert Kahn Associates |
1927 | Construction Started | 1927 |
1929 | Year Completed | 1928 |
Art Deco | Architectural Style | Art Deco |
Commercial | Current Use | Commercial |
36 | Floors Above Ground | 30 |
149 | Last Floor Height | 104 |
151 m | Height (m) | 135 m |
193 | Tip Height | 149 |
12 | Number of Elevators | 20 |
Frame | Structure Type | Frame |
Steel | Vertical Structure Material | Steel |
Concrete | Horizontal Structure Material | Concrete |
No | Facade Structural? | No |
Granite, Limestone, Terracotta, Brick | Main Facade Material | Limestone |
Union Trust Company | Developer | Fisher Family |
Anthony Eugenio, Corrado Parducci, Mary Chase Perry Stratton, And Ezra Winter | Collaborating Artist | Géza Maróti, Corrado Parducci, Anthony De Lorenzo And Ulysses Ricci |
MI | State | MI |
Detroit | City | Detroit |
500 Griswold Street | Address | 3011 W. Grand Blvd. |