U.S. Bank Center vs 7 World Trade Center

Comparing the U.S. Bank Center and the 7 World Trade Center is compelling because they were both designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, yet they stand in different cities (Milwaukee, WI and New York, NY), and were completed over two decades apart.

What this will allow us to see, is how the same firm's approach adapted to different places in different periods of time.

The 7 World Trade Center is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 741ft (226m) with 51 floors above ground, while the U.S. Bank Center reaches 600ft (183m) with 42 floors above ground.

7 World Trade Center also offers more total built-up area, a total fo 1,681,117 sqf (156,181m²), which is about 603,510 sqf (56,068m²) more than what the U.S. Bank Center offers.

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.

The U.S. Bank Center was designed in the International Style style, while the 7 World Trade Center reflects the principles of Contemporary.

The U.S. Bank Center represents a late expression of the International Style, a style already in decline in 1973 when it was completed. By contrast, the 7 World Trade Center followed the then mainstream Contemporary, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

With 33 years between them, the comparison also reflects how quickly architectural priorities can shift from one dominant language to another.

Both the U.S. Bank Center and the 7 World Trade Center were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

The U.S. Bank Center also provides 980 parking spaces.

The two towers rely on different structural systems, reflecting distinct engineering strategies.

The U.S. Bank Center uses a Trussed Tube structural system, which , while the 7 World Trade Center uses a Frame system, that relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight.

Yet, when it comes to their facade, they both employed the same solution, 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.