55 Water Street Building vs Paramount Plaza

Comparing the 55 Water Street Building and the Paramount Plaza is especially interesting because they share much in common. Both rise in New York, NY both were designed by Emery Roth & Sons, and they were completed just one year apart.

This overlap gives us a unique opportunity to understand how Emery Roth & Sons approached different commissions in the same urban context and historical context during a short period.

The 55 Water Street Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 686ft (209m) with 53 floors above ground, while the Paramount Plaza reaches 669ft (204m) with 48 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.

Both the 55 Water Street Building and the Paramount Plaza were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the International Style style.

Both buildings were completed when the International Style style was already past its peak. This makes them feel like late echoes of the movement, more reflective of continuity or nostalgia than of cutting-edge design at the time.

Both the 55 Water Street Building and the Paramount Plaza were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with 55 Water Street Building offering 600 spaces and the Paramount Plaza offering 200.

Both the 55 Water Street Building and the Paramount Plaza rely on a Frame structural system.

A frame structure uses a grid of columns and beams to carry the building's loads. This frees the walls from structural duties, allowing for flexible floor plans and larger windows.

They also employ the same type of facade, a Curtain Wall facade.

A curtain wall is a non-load-bearing facade hung from the structural frame. It is anchored to floor slabs and transfers only its own weight and wind loads, allowing for sleek, glassy exteriors.