Figueroa at Wilshire Building

The Figueroa at Wilshire Building is a Postmodernist skyscraper designed by Albert C. Martin & Associates, and built between 1988 and 1990 in Los Angeles, CA.

Figueroa at Wilshire Building is not the only name you might know this building by though. It is common for companies to want to attach their names to iconic buildings when they move in, or for the general public to come up with nicknames, and this one is no exception. The building has changed names several times over the years, and is also known as:

• Sanwa Bank Plaza between 1990 and 0.
• Mitsui Fudoson Tower.
• United California Bank Building.

Its precise street address is 601 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA. You can also find it on the map here.

The Figueroa at Wilshire Building has received multiple architecture awards for its architectural design since 1990. The following is a list of such prizes and awards:

• Beautification Award Best New Commercial High Rise; Los Angeles Business Council in 1991
• Office Building of the Year Building Owners & Managers Association (BOMA) in 1991
• Rose Award Downtown Breakfast Club in 1991
• Office Building of the Year Building Owners & Managers Association (BOMA) in 1995

The design showcases a square pedestal at street level, which ascends through multiple setbacks to culminate in a striking octagonal glass crown.

At ground level the building opens up to a spacious open-air public plaza.

Albert C. Martin & Associates was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design.

That being said, architecture is a complex discipline involving many professionals from different fields, without whom this building would have not been possible. We will surely be leaving out a lot of names here, but here is a list of the people we do know also played their part in making the Figueroa at Wilshire Building a reality:

• CBM Engineer in charge of Structural Engineering
• Swinerton as the Main Contractor
• Peter M. Muller in charge of Facade Consultancy
• Brookfield Properties as the Main Developer
• Eric Orr as the collaborating Artist

The Figueroa at Wilshire Building can be categorized as a Postmodernist building.

The Figueroa at Wilshire Building was completed in 1990. By 1990 the Postmodernism movement was experiencing a transition. Critics argued that Postmodernism, initially a rebellious and innovative style, had become formulaic and commercialized, and so the trend started moving away from blending historical styles, irony, and playful ornamentation, and begun to give way to emerging architectural trends concerned with more present matters such as technology, ecology or sustainability.

The Figueroa at Wilshire Building uses a frame structure made of steel columns and concrete slabs.

A frame structure uses a combination of beams and columns to sustain the building's weight. The walls in this case are non-load bearing, which allows for more flexibility when distributing the interior spaces.

The facade uses a non-load bearing curtain wall system. This means the curtain wall modules are anchored to the building's structural frame, typically by being attached to the edge of the floor slabs. The curtain wall system connects to the slabs using brackets, anchors, and mullions, which transfer the loads imposed by wind and temperature changes, to the building's primary structural elements.

This setup allows the curtain wall to accommodate differential movement between the facade and the structural frame, such as thermal expansion, floor deflection, or sway from wind forces. This system's integration with the slab edges also allows for continuous insulation and weatherproofing layers.

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features a curtain wall made of Brazilian Rose polished granite combined with tinted glass, brown granite, and bronze panels.

The glass crown resembles a faceted gem.