Onterie Center vs One World Trade Center

Comparing the Onterie Center and the One 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.

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 Onterie Center reaches 571ft (174m) with 60 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.

The Onterie Center was designed in the Modern style, while the One 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 One World Trade Center followed the then mainstream Contemporary, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

With 28 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 One 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 One World Trade Center uses a Framed Tube In Tube system, that combines a strong central core with a perimeter tube of columns.

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 One World Trade Center opted for a Curtain Wall facade, that uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.