Two California Plaza

The Two California Plaza is a Modern Style skyscraper designed by Artur Erickson Architects, in association with AC Martin Partners, and built between 1990 and 1992 in Los Angeles, CA.

Two California Plaza is not the only name you might know this building by though. The building is, or has also been known as 2Cal.

Its precise street address is 350 Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA. You can also find it on the map here.

In 1997 the Two California Plaza was awarded with the BOMA Building of the Year.

On the ground floor, in the open-air plaza, the tower has a courtyard with dancing fountains, a lawn and performance stages.

At the top of the building there's a helipad .

Artur Erickson Architects was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design, in association with AC Martin Partners.

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 Two California Plaza a reality:

• Martin & Huang International Inc. in charge of Structural Engineering
• Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company as the Main Contractor
• Metropolitan Structures West as the Main Developer
• WET Design as the collaborating Artist

The Two California Plaza can be categorized as a Modern Style building.

The Two California Plaza 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 blue glass and aluminum curtain wall covering the majority of the building. Other than a 3-4 floors stone-clad podium, the rest of the building is completely wrapped in glass.

Approximately a quarter of the way up, a series of darker voids covered by metallic grids mark the presence of a mechanical floor.

Other materials found at the Two California Plaza include, Brazilian granite, found in lobby floors, walls and columns, and Borington green slate, used in the water stage.