Southern Bell Telephone Company Building vs William-Oliver Building

Comparing the Southern Bell Telephone Company Building and the William-Oliver Building is interesting because they both stand in Atlanta, GA, and were completed just one year apart, 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.

These two towers present an interesting contrast in their proportions. The Southern Bell Telephone Company Building rises higher at 381ft (116m), while the William-Oliver Building reaches 207ft (63m). However, the William-Oliver Building accommodates more floors with 16 levels above ground, compared to 14 floors in the Southern Bell Telephone Company Building.

This suggests different approaches to interior space design. The Southern Bell Telephone Company Building has an average floor-to-floor height of approximately 8.3m, while the William-Oliver Building has more compact floors averaging around 3.9m each. The taller building's more generous floor heights might indicate grander interior spaces, higher ceilings, or different programmatic requirements.

These different proportions likely reflect the specific needs each building was designed to serve, whether driven by zoning regulations, client requirements, or the intended use of the spaces within. The contrast shows how architects can achieve different spatial experiences even when working with similar overall building scales.

Both the Southern Bell Telephone Company Building and the William-Oliver 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 Marye, Alger and Vinour and Pringle and Smith followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The Southern Bell Telephone Company Building is primarily commercial, while the William-Oliver Building is primarily residential.

Originally, the William-Oliver Building was designed for commercial, but over time it was converted to residential. The Southern Bell Telephone Company Building by contrast has maintained its original role.

The William-Oliver Building offers 114 residential units.

Both the Southern Bell Telephone Company Building and the William-Oliver 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.