U.S. Bank Center vs University Club Tower

Comparing the U.S. Bank Center and the University Club Tower is particularly interesting because they share the same skyline in Milwaukee, WI, and were both designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. However, they were completed more than 34 years apart.

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

The U.S. Bank Center is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 600ft (183m) with 42 floors above ground, while the University Club Tower reaches 446ft (136m) with 34 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.

The U.S. Bank Center was designed in the International Style style, while the University Club 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 University Club Tower followed the then mainstream Contemporary, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

With 34 years between them, the comparison also reflects how quickly architectural priorities can shift from one dominant language to another.

The U.S. Bank Center is primarily commercial, while the University Club Tower is primarily residential.

The University Club Tower offers 53 residential units.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with U.S. Bank Center offering 980 spaces and the University Club Tower offering 106.

The two buildings opted for different structural and facade solutions.

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

And when it came to the facade, the Curtain Wall went with a Curtain Wall facade, which uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure, while the University Club Tower opted for a Modular facade, that employs prefabricated panels, often mixing solid surfaces with smaller windows.