Lewis Tower vs One South Broad Building

Comparing the Lewis Tower and the One South Broad Building is interesting because they both stand in Philadelphia, PA, and were completed within 3 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.

These two towers present an interesting contrast in their proportions. The One South Broad Building rises higher at 472ft (144m), while the Lewis Tower reaches 390ft (119m). However, the Lewis Tower accommodates more floors with 33 levels above ground, compared to 28 floors in the One South Broad Building.

This suggests different approaches to interior space design. The One South Broad Building has an average floor-to-floor height of approximately 5.1m, while the Lewis Tower has more compact floors averaging around 3.6m 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 Lewis Tower and the One South Broad 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 Edmun Gilchrist 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.

The Lewis Tower is primarily residential, while the One South Broad Building is primarily commercial.

Originally, the Lewis Tower was designed for commercial, but over time it was converted to residential. The One South Broad Building by contrast has maintained its original role.

Both the Lewis Tower and the One South Broad 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.