One Chicago West Tower vs 150 North Riverside Building

Comparing the One Chicago West Tower and the 150 North Riverside Building is especially interesting because they share much in common. Both rise in Chicago, IL both were designed by Goettsch Partners , and they were completed within 4 years of each other.

This overlap gives us a unique opportunity to understand how Goettsch Partners approached different commissions in the same urban context and historical context during a short period.

The 150 North Riverside Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 725ft (221m) with 54 floors above ground, while the One Chicago West Tower reaches 574ft (175m) with 49 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 One Chicago West Tower and the 150 North Riverside Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Contemporary style.

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

The One Chicago West Tower is primarily residential, while the 150 North Riverside Building is primarily commercial.

The One Chicago West Tower offers 391 residential units.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with One Chicago West Tower offering 1100 spaces and the 150 North Riverside Building offering 72.

The two towers rely on different structural systems, reflecting distinct engineering strategies.

The One Chicago West Tower uses a Frame structural system, which relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight, while the 150 North Riverside Building uses a Framed Tube In Tube system, that combines a strong central core with a perimeter tube of columns.

Yet, when it comes to their facade, they both employed the same solution, 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.