Sun Oil Building vs Lewis Tower

Comparing the Sun Oil Building and the Lewis Tower is interesting because they both stand in Philadelphia, PA, 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 Lewis Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 390ft (119m) with 33 floors above ground, while the Sun Oil Building reaches 230ft (70m) 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 Sun Oil Building and the Lewis Tower 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 Tilden, Register & Pepper and Edmun Gilchrist followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The Sun Oil Building is primarily commercial, while the Lewis Tower is primarily residential.

Originally, the Lewis Tower was designed for commercial, but over time it was converted to residential. The Sun Oil Building by contrast has maintained its original role.

Both the Sun Oil Building and the Lewis Tower 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.