United Nations Secretariat Building vs 277 Park Avenue Building

Comparing the United Nations Secretariat Building and the 277 Park Avenue Building is interesting because they both rise in New York, NY, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Wallace Harrison and Emery Roth & Sons, 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 New York across time.

Let's take a closer look!

The 277 Park Avenue Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 686ft (209m) with 50 floors above ground, while the United Nations Secretariat Building reaches 505ft (154m) with 39 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 United Nations Secretariat Building and the 277 Park Avenue Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the International Style style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Wallace Harrison and Emery Roth & Sons followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The United Nations Secretariat Building is primarily governmental, while the 277 Park Avenue Building is primarily commercial.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with United Nations Secretariat Building offering 1500 spaces and the 277 Park Avenue Building offering 40.

Both the United Nations Secretariat Building and the 277 Park Avenue 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 Curtain Wall facade.

A curtain wall is a non-load-bearing facade hung from the structural frame. It is anchored to floor slabs and transfers only its own weight and wind loads, allowing for sleek, glassy exteriors.