Onterie Center vs Trump International Hotel and Tower

Comparing the Onterie Center and the Trump International Hotel and Tower is particularly interesting because they share the same skyline in Chicago, IL, and were both designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. However, they were completed more than 23 years apart.

This offers a unique perspective on how the architect's style and the city's architecture evolved over time.

The Trump International Hotel and Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 1181ft (360m) with 92 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 Trump International Hotel and Tower 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 Trump International Hotel and Tower followed the then mainstream Contemporary, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

With 23 years between them, the comparison also reflects how quickly architectural priorities can shift from one dominant language to another.

Both towers follow a mixed-use program. The Onterie Center combines residential, commercial, retail and hotel, while the Trump International Hotel and Tower integrates hotel, residential and commercial. Notably, both include residential, commercial and hotel as part of their program.

Both towers incorporate hotels as part of their program. The Onterie Center features a -star hotel with 101 rooms, while the Trump International Hotel and Tower includes a 5-star hotel with 339 rooms. For more details, see the official website of the Onterie Center . You can also visit the official website of the Trump International Hotel and Tower.

In terms of capacity, the Onterie Center offers 594 apartments, while the Trump International Hotel and Tower provides 486 units.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with Onterie Center offering 363 spaces and the Trump International Hotel and Tower offering 960.

The two buildings opted for different structural and facade solutions.

The Onterie Center uses a Trussed Tube system, which , while the Trump International Hotel and 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 Trump International Hotel and Tower opted for a Curtain Wall facade, that uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.