Koppers Tower vs Bell Telephone Building

Comparing the Koppers Tower and the Bell Telephone Building is interesting because they both stand in Pittsburgh, PA, and were completed within 2 years of each other, 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 Koppers Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 476ft (145m) with 34 floors above ground, while the Bell Telephone Building reaches 338ft (103m) with 20 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 Koppers Tower and the Bell Telephone 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 Graham, Anderson, Probst & White and John Torrey Windrim followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

Both the Koppers Tower and the Bell Telephone Building were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

Both the Koppers Tower and the Bell Telephone Building rely on a Frame structural 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.

They also employ the same type of facade, a Masonry facade.

A masonry facade gives the building a heavier, more traditional appearance. It often conceals a frame structure behind it, creating the look of solid walls without carrying the main loads.