Guardian Building vs Town Apartments

Comparing the Guardian Building and the Town Apartments is particularly interesting because they share the same skyline in Detroit, MI, and were both designed by Smith, Hinchman & Grylls. However, they were completed more than 24 years apart.

This offers a unique perspective on how the architect's style and the city's architecture evolved over time.

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 Town Apartments reaches 194ft (59m) with 15 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 Town Apartments were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

The Town Apartments was designed at a moment when the Art Deco style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the Guardian Building was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

The Guardian Building is primarily commercial, while the Town Apartments is primarily residential.

The Town Apartments offers 250 residential units.

The Town Apartments also provides 25 parking spaces.

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