Heritage at Millennium Park vs One Chicago East Tower

Comparing the Heritage at Millennium Park and the One Chicago East Tower is interesting because they both rise in Chicago, IL, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Solomon Cordwell Buenz and Goettsch Partners , and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than a decade 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 One Chicago East Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 971ft (296m) with 77 floors above ground, while the Heritage at Millennium Park reaches 631ft (192.4m) with 57 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 Heritage at Millennium Park and the One Chicago East Tower were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Contemporary style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Solomon Cordwell Buenz and Goettsch Partners followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The Heritage at Millennium Park follows a mixed-use model, combining residential and retail. In contrast, the One Chicago East Tower has remained primarily residential.

In terms of capacity, the Heritage at Millennium Park offers 359 apartments, while the One Chicago East Tower provides 353 units.

The One Chicago East Tower also provides 1100 parking spaces.

Both towers share the same structural solution, a Frame 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.

However, when it comes to the facade, both buildings use different approaches. The Heritage at Millennium Park uses a Modular facade, while the One Chicago East Tower uses a Curtain Wall facade.

A Modular facade like the one seen in the Heritage at Millennium Park employs prefabricated panels, often mixing solid surfaces with smaller windows, while a curtain-wall facade like the one seen in the One Chicago East Tower uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.