Hilton Milwaukee City Center vs The Bell Building

Comparing the Hilton Milwaukee City Center and the The Bell Building is compelling because they were both designed by Holabird & Root, yet they stand in different cities (Milwaukee, WI and Chicago, IL), 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 The Bell Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 427ft (130m) with 31 floors above ground, while the Hilton Milwaukee City Center reaches 276ft (84m) with 25 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 Hilton Milwaukee City Center was designed in the Art Deco style, while the The Bell Building reflects the principles of Modern.

The The Bell Building represents a late expression of the Modern, a style already in decline in 1966 when it was completed. By contrast, the Hilton Milwaukee City Center followed the then mainstream Art Deco, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

With 39 years between them, the comparison also reflects how quickly architectural priorities can shift from one dominant language to another.

The Hilton Milwaukee City Center is primarily hotel, while the The Bell Building is primarily .

Originally, the The Bell Building was designed for commercial, but over time it was converted to . The Hilton Milwaukee City Center by contrast has maintained its original role.

The two buildings opted for different structural and facade solutions.

The Hilton Milwaukee City Center uses a Frame system, which relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight, while the The Bell Building uses a Framed Tube In Tube system, that combines a strong central core with a perimeter tube of columns.

And when it came to the facade, the Masonry went with a Masonry facade, which features a heavy masonry skin that gives it a more clasical look, while the The Bell Building opted for a Curtain Wall facade, that uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.