Town Apartments vs Penobscot Building

Comparing the Town Apartments and the Penobscot Building is particularly interesting because they share the same skyline in Detroit, MI, and were both designed by Smith, Hinchman & Grylls. However, they were completed more than 25 years apart.

This offers a unique perspective on how the architect's style and the city's architecture evolved over time.

The Penobscot Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 564ft (172m) with 45 floors above ground, while the Town Apartments reaches 194ft (59m) with 15 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 Town Apartments and the Penobscot Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

The Town Apartments was designed at a moment when the Art Deco style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the Penobscot Building style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the Penobscot Building was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

The Town Apartments is primarily residential, while the Penobscot Building is primarily commercial.

The Town Apartments offers 250 residential units.

The Town Apartments also provides 25 parking spaces.

Both the Town Apartments and the Penobscot 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.