Guardian Building vs Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse

Comparing the Guardian Building and the Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse is especially interesting because they share much in common. Both rise in Detroit, MI both were designed by Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, and they were completed just one year apart.

This overlap gives us a unique opportunity to understand how Smith, Hinchman & Grylls approached different commissions in the same urban context and historical context during a short period.

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 Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse reaches 0ft (m) with 12 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 Guardian Building and the Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse 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 Smith, Hinchman & Grylls followed what was in many ways expected at the time, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms rather, than breaking with convention.

The Guardian Building is primarily commercial, while the Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse is primarily commercial .

The Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse offers 155 residential units.

These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.