Merchandise Mart vs Carbide & Carbon Building

Comparing the Merchandise Mart and the Carbide & Carbon Building is interesting because they both stand in Chicago, IL, 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 Carbide & Carbon Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 502ft (153m) with 37 floors above ground, while the Merchandise Mart reaches 341ft (104m) with 25 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 Merchandise Mart and the Carbide & Carbon 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 Burnham Brothers followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The Merchandise Mart is primarily commercial, while the Carbide & Carbon Building is primarily hotel.

Originally, the Carbide & Carbon Building was designed for commercial, but over time it was converted to hotel. The Merchandise Mart by contrast has maintained its original role.

The Carbide & Carbon Building incorporates a 4-star hotel with 396 rooms. More information is available at the official website.

Both the Merchandise Mart and the Carbide & Carbon 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.