One PPG Place vs Fifth Avenue Place

Comparing the One PPG Place and the Fifth Avenue Place is interesting because they both stand in Pittsburgh, PA, and were completed within 4 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.

The One PPG Place is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 636ft (194m) with 40 floors above ground, while the Fifth Avenue Place reaches 617ft (188m) with 31 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 PPG Place and the Fifth Avenue Place were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Postmodernism style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Johnson/Burgee Architects and Stubbins Associates 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 PPG Place and the Fifth Avenue Place are primarily commercial towers, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

Originally, the Fifth Avenue Place was designed for retail, but over time it was converted to commercial. The One PPG Place by contrast has maintained its original role.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with One PPG Place offering 700 spaces and the Fifth Avenue Place offering 250.

Both towers share the same structural solution, a Frame 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.

However, when it comes to the facade, both buildings use different approaches. The One PPG Place uses a Curtain Wall facade, while the Fifth Avenue Place uses a Modular facade.

A Curtain Wall facade like the one seen in the One PPG Place uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure, while a modular facade like the one seen in the Fifth Avenue Place employs prefabricated panels, often mixing solid surfaces with smaller windows.