U.S. Bank Center vs Trump International Hotel and Tower

Comparing the U.S. Bank Center and the Trump International Hotel and Tower is compelling because they were both designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, yet they stand in different cities (Milwaukee, WI and Chicago, IL), 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 Trump International Hotel and Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 1181ft (360m) with 92 floors above ground, while the U.S. Bank Center reaches 600ft (183m) with 42 floors above ground.

Despite being taller and having more floors, Trump International Hotel and Tower has less total built-up area than U.S. Bank Center.

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 Trump International Hotel and Tower 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 Trump International Hotel and Tower followed the then mainstream Contemporary, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

With 36 years between them, the comparison also reflects how quickly architectural priorities can shift from one dominant language to another.

The Trump International Hotel and Tower follows a mixed-use model, combining hotel, residential and commercial. In contrast, the U.S. Bank Center has remained primarily commercial.

The Trump International Hotel and Tower incorporates a 5-star hotel with 339 rooms. More information is available at the official website.

The Trump International Hotel and Tower offers 486 residential units.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with U.S. Bank Center offering 980 spaces and the Trump International Hotel and Tower offering 960.

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 Trump International Hotel and Tower 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.