Onterie Center vs University Club Tower

Comparing the Onterie Center and the University Club Tower is compelling because they were both designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, yet they stand in different cities (Chicago, IL and Milwaukee, WI), 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 Onterie Center is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 571ft (174m) with 60 floors above ground, while the University Club Tower reaches 446ft (136m) with 34 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 University Club 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 University Club Tower followed the then mainstream Contemporary, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

With 21 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 University Club Tower has remained primarily residential.

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

In terms of capacity, the Onterie Center offers 594 apartments, while the University Club Tower provides 53 units.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with Onterie Center offering 363 spaces and the University Club Tower offering 106.

The two buildings opted for different structural and facade solutions.

The Onterie Center uses a Trussed Tube system, which , while the University Club 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 University Club Tower opted for a Modular facade, that employs prefabricated panels, often mixing solid surfaces with smaller windows.