MetLife Building vs 28 Liberty Street Building

MetLife Building
28 Liberty Street Building

Comparing the MetLife Building and the 28 Liberty Street Building is interesting because they both stand in New York, NY, 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.

Height
246m
Floors
59

Height & Size

Height
248m
Floors
60

The 28 Liberty Street Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 814ft (248m) with 60 floors above ground, while the MetLife Building reaches 807ft (246m) with 59 floors above ground.

Despite being taller and having more floors, 28 Liberty Street Building has less total built-up area than MetLife Building.

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.

Style
International Style

Architectural Style

Style
International Style

Both the MetLife Building and the 28 Liberty Street Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the International Style style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Emery Roth & Sons and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

Main use
Commercial

Uses

Main use
Commercial

Both the MetLife Building and the 28 Liberty Street 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.

The MetLife Building also provides 315 parking spaces.

Structure
Frame
Facade
Curtain Wall

Structure & Facade

Structure
Frame
Facade
Curtain Wall

Both the MetLife Building and the 28 Liberty Street 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 Curtain Wall facade.

A curtain wall is a non-load-bearing facade hung from the structural frame. It is anchored to floor slabs and transfers only its own weight and wind loads, allowing for sleek, glassy exteriors.

MetLife Building 28 Liberty Street Building
Emery Roth & Sons Architect Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
1958 Design Started 1955
1959 Design Ended 1957
1960 Construction Started 1957
1963 Year Completed 1961
International Style Architectural Style International Style
Commercial Current Use Commercial
59 Floors Above Ground 60
246 m Height (m) 248 m
292000 Built-up Area (m²) 208103
220,000 m² Usable Area (m²) 204,387 m²
23 Number of Elevators 37
Frame Structure Type Frame
Reinforced Concrete Vertical Structure Material Concrete And Steel
Reinforced Concrete Horizontal Structure Material Concrete
No Facade Structural? Yes
Concrete, Quartz, Glass Main Facade Material Aluminum, Glass
Diesel Construction Company Main Contractor Turner Construction Company
Erwin S. Wolfson Developer Chase Manhattan Bank N.A.
Hideo Sasaki Landscape Architect Dan Kiley Landscape
Jaros Baum & Bolles MEP Engineer Jaros Baum & Bolles
James Ruderman Structural Engineer Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, And Weiskopf & Pickworth LLP
NY State NY
New York City New York
200 Park Avenue Address 28 Liberty Street