Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building

The Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building is a Postmodernist skyscraper designed by Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz, in association with David Hobstetter, and built between 1993 and 1994, for a reported $180 million dollars, in Oakland, CA.

Its precise street address is 1301 Clay Street, Oakland, CA. You can also find it on the map here.

In 1998 the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building was awarded with the TOBY Award.

The complex consists of two identical towers connected by a circular glass atrium that serves as a central space on the ground floor, and a two-story skybridge on the 13th and 14th floors. The atrium is accessed through a landscaped plaza delimited by two 5-story wings that connect to the towers.

Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design, in association with David Hobstetter.

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 Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building a reality:

• Cygna Group in charge of Structural Engineering
• General Services Administration as the Main Developer

The Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building can be categorized as a Postmodernist building.

The Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building was completed in 1994. By 1994 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 Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building uses a frame structure made of columns and beams.

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 modular, or panelized system. This type of facade can function as either a window wall or a curtain wall, depending on the design. Unlike traditional glass curtain walls or window walls though, the modular facade is not primarily composed of glass. Instead, it often features more opaque panels that mimic masonry or stone-clad finishes, with smaller windows cut into the panels.

This type of facade allows the building to benefit from the modern qualities of a curtain wall while giving the design team flexibility to achieve visual aesthetics beyond the all-glass modern skyscraper.

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features beige and white limestone, along with green-tinted glass.

The towers are topped with stainless steel pyramids-shaped roofs.