MCI Center

The MCI Center is an International Style skyscraper designed by The Luckman Partnership, and built in 1973 in Los Angeles, CA.

MCI Center 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 MCI Center is also known, or has been known as, Broadway Plaza, Macy's Plaza, or 700 South Flower Street.

Its precise street address is 700-724 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, CA. You can also find it on the map here.

The building underwent a major restoration in 2013. The architect commissioned to undertake this restoration was Johnson Fain Architects.

The Luckman Partnership was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design.

The MCI Center can be categorized as an International Style building.

The MCI Center 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 tinted glass curtain wall with dark spandrels and silver aluminum finishes at the corners of the facades, spanning from the first level above the two-level base up to the crown.