JW Marriott Essex House vs 20 Exchange Place Building

Comparing the JW Marriott Essex House and the 20 Exchange Place Building is interesting because they both stand in New York, NY, and were completed in the same year, but they were designed by different architects.

This offers a unique glimpse at how rival designers approached projects in the same city during the same era.

The 20 Exchange Place Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 774ft (236m) with 57 floors above ground, while the JW Marriott Essex House reaches 463ft (141m) with 43 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 JW Marriott Essex House and the 20 Exchange Place Building 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 both Frank Grad & Sons and Cross & Cross followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The JW Marriott Essex House is primarily hotel, while the 20 Exchange Place Building is primarily residential.

Originally, the 20 Exchange Place Building was designed for commercial, but over time it was converted to residential. The JW Marriott Essex House by contrast has maintained its original role.

The JW Marriott Essex House incorporates a 4-star hotel with 537 rooms. More information is available at the official website.

In terms of capacity, the JW Marriott Essex House offers 200 apartments, while the 20 Exchange Place Building provides 762 units.

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