Lee Plaza Building vs Fisher Building

Comparing the Lee Plaza Building and the Fisher Building is interesting because they both stand in Detroit, MI, and were completed just one year apart, 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 Fisher Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 443ft (135m) with 30 floors above ground, while the Lee Plaza Building reaches 180ft (55m) with 15 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 Lee Plaza Building and the Fisher 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 Charles Noble and Albert Kahn Associates followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The Lee Plaza Building is primarily residential, while the Fisher Building is primarily commercial.

Originally, the Lee Plaza Building was designed for hotel, but over time it was converted to residential. The Fisher Building by contrast has maintained its original role.

The Lee Plaza Building offers 117 residential units.

The Fisher Building also provides 964 parking spaces.

Both the Lee Plaza Building and the Fisher 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.