One North Wacker Building vs 150 North Riverside Building

Comparing the One North Wacker Building and the 150 North Riverside Building is particularly interesting because they share the same skyline in Chicago, IL, and were both designed by Goettsch Partners. However, they were completed more than 15 years apart.

This offers a unique perspective on how the architect's style and the city's architecture evolved over time.

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 North Wacker Building reaches 653ft (199m) with 50 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 North Wacker Building 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 Goettsch Partners followed what was in many ways expected at the time, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms rather, than breaking with convention.

Both the One North Wacker Building and the 150 North Riverside 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.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with One North Wacker Building offering 220 spaces and the 150 North Riverside Building offering 72.

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

The One North Wacker Building 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.