Penobscot Building vs AT&T Building

Comparing the Penobscot Building and the AT&T Building is especially interesting because they share much in common. Both rise in Detroit, MI both were designed by Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, and they were completed in the same year.

This overlap gives us a unique opportunity to understand how Smith, Hinchman & Grylls approached different commissions in the same urban context and historical context during a short period.

The Penobscot Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 564ft (172m) with 45 floors above ground, while the AT&T Building reaches 318ft (97m) with 19 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 Penobscot Building and the AT&T Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So Smith, Hinchman & Grylls followed what was in many ways expected at the time, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms rather, than breaking with convention.

Both the Penobscot Building and the AT&T Building were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

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