Onterie Center vs 7 World Trade Center

Comparing the Onterie Center and the 7 World Trade Center is compelling because they were both designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, yet they stand in different cities (Chicago, IL and New York, NY), and were completed over two decades apart.

What this will allow us to see, is how the same firm's approach adapted to different places in different periods of time.

These two towers present an interesting contrast in their proportions. The 7 World Trade Center rises higher at 741ft (226m), while the Onterie Center reaches 571ft (174m). However, the Onterie Center accommodates more floors with 60 levels above ground, compared to 51 floors in the 7 World Trade Center.

This suggests different approaches to interior space design. The 7 World Trade Center has an average floor-to-floor height of approximately 4.4m, while the Onterie Center has more compact floors averaging around 2.9m each. The taller building's more generous floor heights might indicate grander interior spaces, higher ceilings, or different programmatic requirements.

These different proportions likely reflect the specific needs each building was designed to serve, whether driven by zoning regulations, client requirements, or the intended use of the spaces within. The contrast shows how architects can achieve different spatial experiences even when working with similar overall building scales.

The Onterie Center was designed in the Modern style, while the 7 World Trade Center reflects the principles of Contemporary.

The Onterie Center represents a late expression of the Modern, a style already in decline in 1986 when it was completed. By contrast, the 7 World Trade Center followed the then mainstream Contemporary, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

With 20 years between them, the comparison also reflects how quickly architectural priorities can shift from one dominant language to another.

The Onterie Center follows a mixed-use model, combining residential, commercial, retail and hotel. In contrast, the 7 World Trade Center has remained primarily commercial.

The Onterie Center incorporates a -star hotel with 101 rooms. More information is available at the official website.

The Onterie Center offers 594 residential units.

The Onterie Center also provides 363 parking spaces.

The two buildings opted for different structural and facade solutions.

The Onterie Center uses a Trussed Tube system, which , while the 7 World Trade Center uses a Frame system, that relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight.

And when it came to the facade, the Masonry went with a Masonry facade, which features a heavy masonry skin that gives it a more clasical look, while the 7 World Trade Center opted for a Curtain Wall facade, that uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.