W. R. Grace Building vs 28 Liberty Street Building

Comparing the W. R. Grace Building and the 28 Liberty Street Building is particularly interesting because they share the same skyline in New York, NY, and were both designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. However, they were completed more than 13 years apart.

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

The 28 Liberty Street Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 814ft (248m) with 60 floors above ground, while the W. R. Grace Building reaches 630ft (192m) with 50 floors above ground.

28 Liberty Street Building also offers more total built-up area, a total fo 2,240,000 sqf (208,103m²), which is about 761,471 sqf (70,743m²) more than what the W. R. Grace Building offers.

By contrast, the 28 Liberty Street Building sits on a site with a lower floor area ratio.

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 W. R. Grace Building and the 28 Liberty Street Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the International Style style.

The W. R. Grace Building was designed at a moment when the International Style style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the 28 Liberty Street Building style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the 28 Liberty Street Building was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

Both the W. R. Grace Building and the 28 Liberty Street Building 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 W. R. Grace Building also provides 185 parking spaces.

Both the W. R. Grace Building and the 28 Liberty Street 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.