Willis Tower vs 383 Madison Avenue Building

Comparing the Willis Tower and the 383 Madison Avenue Building is compelling because they were both designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, yet they stand in different cities (Chicago, IL 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 Willis Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 1450ft (442m) with 108 floors above ground, while the 383 Madison Avenue Building reaches 755ft (230m) with 47 floors above ground.

Willis Tower also offers more total built-up area, a total fo 4,499,999 sqf (418,064m²), which is about 3,315,970 sqf (308,064m²) more than what the 383 Madison Avenue Building 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 Willis Tower was designed in the International Style style, while the 383 Madison Avenue Building reflects the principles of Contemporary.

The Willis Tower represents a late expression of the International Style, a style already in decline in 1974 when it was completed. By contrast, the 383 Madison Avenue Building followed the then mainstream Contemporary, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

With 27 years between them, the comparison also reflects how quickly architectural priorities can shift from one dominant language to another.

Both the Willis Tower and the 383 Madison Avenue 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.

Both towers share the same structural solution, a Frame 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.

However, when it comes to the facade, both buildings use different approaches. The Willis Tower uses a Curtain Wall facade, while the 383 Madison Avenue Building uses a Modular facade.

A Curtain Wall facade like the one seen in the Willis Tower uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure, while a modular facade like the one seen in the 383 Madison Avenue Building employs prefabricated panels, often mixing solid surfaces with smaller windows.