John Hancock Center vs 900-910 North Lake Shore

Comparing the John Hancock Center and the 900-910 North Lake Shore 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 a decade 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!

The John Hancock Center is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 1129ft (344m) with 100 floors above ground, while the 900-910 North Lake Shore reaches 0ft (m) with 29 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 John Hancock Center and the 900-910 North Lake Shore 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 John Hancock Center is primarily , while the 900-910 North Lake Shore is primarily residential.

In terms of capacity, the John Hancock Center offers 703 apartments, while the 900-910 North Lake Shore provides 524 units.

The John Hancock Center also provides 710 parking spaces.

The two buildings opted for different structural and facade solutions.

The John Hancock Center uses a Trussed Tube In Tube system, which combines a central core with a perimeter tube reinforced by diagonal bracing, while the 900-910 North Lake Shore uses a Frame system, that relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight.

And when it came to the facade, the Window Wall went with a Window Wall facade, which uses panels fitted between floor slabs, leaving slab edges visible, while the 900-910 North Lake Shore opted for a Curtain Wall facade, that uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.