Medical Dental Building vs Mercantile National Bank Building

Comparing the Medical Dental Building and the Mercantile National Bank Building is interesting because they both rise in Dallas, TX, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Arthur J. Rife Construction and Walter W. Ahlschlager, 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 Dallas across time.

Let's take a closer look!

The Mercantile National Bank Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 430ft (131m) with 31 floors above ground, while the Medical Dental Building reaches 105ft (32m) with 8 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 Medical Dental Building and the Mercantile National Bank Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

The Mercantile National Bank Building was designed at a moment when the Art Deco style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the Medical Dental Building was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

The Medical Dental Building is primarily commercial, while the Mercantile National Bank Building is primarily residential .

However, both of them have shifted purpose since their completion. The Medical Dental Building evolved from medical to commercial, while the Mercantile National Bank Building moved from commercial to residential .

The Mercantile National Bank Building offers 213 residential units.

Both the Medical Dental Building and the Mercantile National Bank 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.