Heritage at Millennium Park vs The Harrison Building

Comparing the Heritage at Millennium Park and the The Harrison Building is compelling because they were both designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, yet they stand in different cities (Chicago, IL and San Francisco, CA), and were completed more than 9 years apart.

What this will allow us to see, is how the same firm's approach adapted to different places at roughly the same time (9 years isn't that much time when it comes to urban context and architecture).

The Heritage at Millennium Park is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 631ft (192.4m) with 57 floors above ground, while the The Harrison Building reaches 495ft (151m) with 49 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 The Harrison Building 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 Solomon Cordwell Buenz followed what was in many ways expected at the time, 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 The Harrison Building has remained primarily residential.

In terms of capacity, the Heritage at Millennium Park offers 359 apartments, while the The Harrison Building provides 298 units.

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 The Harrison Building 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 The Harrison Building uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.