Palmolive Building vs NBC Tower

Comparing the Palmolive Building and the NBC Tower is interesting because they both rise in Chicago, IL, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Holabird & Root and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished over two decades apart.

This contrast within the same city allows us to see how different creative minds interpreted the evolving needs of Chicago across time.

Let's take a closer look!

Both the Palmolive Building and the NBC Tower were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

The NBC Tower was designed at a moment when the Art Deco style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the Palmolive Building was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

The Palmolive Building is primarily residential, while the NBC Tower is primarily commercial.

Originally, the Palmolive Building was designed for commercial, but over time it was converted to residential. The NBC Tower by contrast has maintained its original role.

The Palmolive Building offers 102 residential units.

The NBC Tower also provides 261 parking spaces.

These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.