architectural works comparison essay

Comparison between the Chrysler Building and the Chicago Merchandize Mart
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The designers of the Chicago Merchandise Mart were Graham, White, Anderson, and Probst. The three architects are the chief designers of the building from the initial stage to the completion. On the contrary, the designer of the Chrysler building was initially William H. Reynolds, who sold the design to Walter P. Chrysler the implementer of the plan to the structure that is present in the modern world.
Chrysler Building and the Chicago merchandise mart are two distinct constructions by two different artists. The Chicago Merchandise Mart is a building that has fifteen base storey and twenty-five additional towers. It is a construction; unlike the Chrysler building it has the largest square area coverage. It is a building that has its size concentration at the base unlike in the Chrysler building that has its prestige in the number of towers that are making the bulk of the structure. On the contrary, the Chrysler building has around a seventy-seven storey in position. By the time of its construction, it was the tallest building in the region.
The architect of Chrysler building was able to design a vertical steel spire at the top of the building an element that differentiates it from the Chicago Merchandise Mart. The spire was to make it more appealing and taller than the other structures that were around the area by the time of its construction. Chrysler was able to design the building with one idea in mind that of outdoing the rest of the development in the region.

The Chrysler building, therefore, is different as it has a spire at the top of the last tower that is absent in the Chicago Merchandise Mart.
Another feature that is absent in the Chicago Merchandise Mart is the exterior artwork that is present in the Chrysler building. The designer of the Chrysler building was smart enough to develop giant eagle gargoyle that are protruding from the sides of the building. They are some of the most appealing elements that are absent in the Chicago Merchandise Mart. It is a point of difference since the exterior designs are different because the building is more appealing at the end.
On the contrary, the Chicago Merchandise Mart has a unique beautification of lighting systems. The color lighting systems are absent in the Chrysler building. The Chicago Merchandise Mart exhibits significant innovation in the exterior decorations an element that seems to be in a different style than the type of the Chrysler building. The two buildings are therefore different in size and exterior decoration.
The two building were as a result of the construction rivalry that was taking place in the 1920s. Everyone in the construction industry was looking forward to designing a structure that was different, taller and bigger than any of the previous versions in the same area. The world was now experiencing drastic changes in the construction industry. The megastructures were now filling the cities within a short time in search of prestige and fame at the end of the day. The designers were now making a pavement for the modern skyscrapers that are filling the cities in the present world we live today. It is through the competition in the New York City and other major cities in the world that was resulting in the development of better buildings each new day.
One way through which Chrysler building and the Chicago merchandise mart are similar is the time of their construction. The major challenges the two building designers were the issue of labor during the construction. It was the hardest task for the workers to assemble the building materials once the structure began to increase in size. During the 1920s when the building work was taking place there was no particular technology for availing materials in the construction site. Unlike in the present world when we have better technology for moving materials from one floor to the other, it was hectic for the builders during the 1920s. The designers of the structures had to allocate a high labor force to ensure that the work was going on smoothly. As it is evident during the time, the construction work was taking longer time than today due to the difficulties experienced in the translocation of materials from one point to the other during the development. The designers of Chrysler building and the Chicago Merchandise Mart had the toughest time in the formulation of the designs even before the construction would begin. The drafting of the paperwork for construction was through hand and pencil work. Mistakes were frequent and time-consuming unlike in the present world when we have computer technology.
The construction of Chrysler building and the Chicago Merchandise Mart was hard due to the manual movement of building materials. The main way of moving materials was through the use of pullies and conveyor belts that were slow and could only move a small weight per time. It is a dictation of the level of technology that was available by then.
Bibliography
‘Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934’. Choice Reviews Online 51, no. 04 (2013): 51-1883-51-1883.
‘Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871–1934 By Thomas Leslie ( Urbana: University Of Illinois Press, 2013
. Pp. Xi, 234. Illustrations, Maps, Appendix, Notes, Bibliography, Index. $39.95 .)’.
Indian Magazine of History 110, no. 3 (2014): 283-284.
‘Construction Of The Walter P. Chrysler Building, Highland Park, Michigan’. ACI Journal
Proceedings 69, no. 12 (1972).