Seagram Building vs Lever House

Comparing the Seagram Building and the Lever House is interesting because they both rise in New York, NY, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Mies van der Rohe and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than 6 years apart.

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

Let's take a closer look!

The Seagram Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 515ft (157m) with 38 floors above ground, while the Lever House reaches 307ft (93.57m) with 21 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 Seagram Building and the Lever House were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the International Style style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Mies van der Rohe and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

Both the Seagram Building and the Lever House 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 the Seagram Building and the Lever House 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.