Onterie Center vs Gas Company Tower

Comparing the Onterie Center and the Gas Company Tower is an interesting exercise, because even though they are located in different cities (Chicago, IL and Los Angeles, CA), both were designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and finished within within 5 years of each other. This gives us the chance to see how the same architect's ideas were expressed in different urban contexts almost simultaneously.

These two towers present an interesting contrast in their proportions. The Gas Company Tower rises higher at 748ft (228m), while the Onterie Center reaches 571ft (174m). However, the Onterie Center accommodates more floors with 60 levels above ground, compared to 52 floors in the Gas Company Tower.

This suggests different approaches to interior space design. The Gas Company Tower 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 Gas Company Tower reflects the principles of Postmodernism.

Both towers were built when their respective styles were already past their prime. This makes them feel more like late continuations rather than groundbreaking statements, showing how architectural traditions can linger even as tastes shift.

The Onterie Center follows a mixed-use model, combining residential, commercial, retail and hotel. In contrast, the Gas Company Tower 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 Gas Company Tower 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 Gas Company Tower opted for a Curtain Wall facade, that uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.