One World Trade Center vs One Vanderbilt

Comparing the One World Trade Center and the One Vanderbilt is interesting because they both rise in New York, NY, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than 6 years apart.

This contrast within the same city allows us to see how different creative minds interpreted the evolving needs of New York across time.

Let's take a closer look!

The One World Trade Center is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 1775ft (541m) with 104 floors above ground, while the One Vanderbilt reaches 1401ft (427m) with 67 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 World Trade Center and the One Vanderbilt 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 Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Kohn Pedersen Fox 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 World Trade Center and the One Vanderbilt 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 two towers rely on different structural systems, reflecting distinct engineering strategies.

The One World Trade Center uses a Framed Tube In Tube structural system, which combines a strong central core with a perimeter tube of columns, while the One Vanderbilt uses a Trussed Frame system, that uses diagonal bracing in addition to beams and columns for stability.

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.