Inland Steel Building vs 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments

Comparing the Inland Steel Building and the 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments is interesting because they both rise in Chicago, IL, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Mies van der Rohe, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than 7 years apart.

This contrast within the same city allows us to see how different creative minds interpreted the evolving needs of Chicago across time.

Let's take a closer look!

These two towers present an interesting contrast in their proportions. The Inland Steel Building rises higher at 331ft (101m), while the 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments reaches 269ft (82m). However, the 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments accommodates more floors with 26 levels above ground, compared to 19 floors in the Inland Steel Building.

This suggests different approaches to interior space design. The Inland Steel Building has an average floor-to-floor height of approximately 5.3m, while the 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments has more compact floors averaging around 3.2m each. The taller building's more generous floor heights might indicate grander interior spaces, higher ceilings, or different programmatic requirements.

These different proportions likely reflect the specific needs each building was designed to serve, whether driven by zoning regulations, client requirements, or the intended use of the spaces within. The contrast shows how architects can achieve different spatial experiences even when working with similar overall building scales.

Both the Inland Steel Building and the 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the International Style style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Mies van der Rohe followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The Inland Steel Building is primarily commercial, while the 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments is primarily residential.

The 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments offers 248 residential units.

Both towers share the same structural solution, a Frame system.

A frame structure uses a grid of columns and beams to carry the building's loads. This frees the walls from structural duties, allowing for flexible floor plans and larger windows.

However, when it comes to the facade, both buildings use different approaches. The Inland Steel Building uses a Curtain Wall facade, while the 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments uses a Window Wall facade.

A Curtain Wall facade like the one seen in the Inland Steel Building uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure, while a window-wall facade like the one seen in the 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments uses panels fitted between floor slabs, leaving slab edges visible.