Seattle Tower vs 1411 Fourth Avenue Building

Comparing the Seattle Tower and the 1411 Fourth Avenue Building is interesting because they both stand in Seattle, WA, and were completed in the same year, but they were designed by different architects.

This offers a unique glimpse at how rival designers approached projects in the same city during the same era.

The Seattle Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 318ft (97m) with 27 floors above ground, while the 1411 Fourth Avenue Building reaches 0ft (m) with 15 floors above ground.

Seattle Tower also offers more total built-up area, a total fo 216,570 sqf (20,120m²), which is about 65,531 sqf (6,088m²) more than what the 1411 Fourth Avenue Building 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 Seattle Tower and the 1411 Fourth Avenue 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 both Albertson, Wilson & Richardson and Robert C. Reamer 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 Seattle Tower and the 1411 Fourth Avenue 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.

The Seattle Tower also provides 50 parking spaces.

Both the Seattle Tower and the 1411 Fourth Avenue Building 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 Masonry facade.

A masonry facade gives the building a heavier, more traditional appearance. It often conceals a frame structure behind it, creating the look of solid walls without carrying the main loads.