Richard J. Daley Center vs Aon Center

Comparing the Richard J. Daley Center and the Aon Center is interesting because they both rise in Chicago, IL, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, C.F. Murphy Associates and Edward Durell Stone, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than 8 years 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!

The Aon Center is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 1135ft (346m) with 83 floors above ground, while the Richard J. Daley Center reaches 650ft (198m) with 31 floors above ground.

Aon Center also offers more total built-up area, a total fo 3,599,965 sqf (334,448m²), which is about 2,099,962 sqf (195,093m²) more than what the Richard J. Daley Center offers.

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 Richard J. Daley Center and the Aon Center were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the International Style style.

The Aon Center was designed at a moment when the International Style style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the Richard J. Daley Center was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

The Richard J. Daley Center is primarily governmental, while the Aon Center is primarily commercial.

The Aon Center also provides 679 parking spaces.

Both the Richard J. Daley Center and the Aon Center rely on a Framed Tube In Tube structural system.

A tube-in-tube system combines a reinforced central core with a perimeter of columns connected by floor slabs. This arrangement creates a stiff structure that resists both vertical and lateral forces efficiently.

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.