One North Wacker Building vs BMO Tower

Comparing the One North Wacker Building and the BMO Tower 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 19 years apart.

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

The BMO Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 728ft (222m) with 51 floors above ground, while the One North Wacker Building reaches 653ft (199m) with 50 floors above ground.

Despite being taller and having more floors, BMO Tower has less total built-up area than One North Wacker 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.

Both the One North Wacker Building and the BMO Tower 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.

Both the One North Wacker Building and the BMO Tower 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 BMO Tower offering 324.

Both the One North Wacker Building and the BMO Tower 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.