JPMorgan Chase Tower

The JPMorgan Chase Tower is a Modern Style skyscraper designed in 1977 by I. M. Pei & Partners, in association with 3D International, and built between 1978 and 1982 in Houston, TX.

JPMorgan Chase Tower 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:

• Texas Commerce Tower between 1982 and 2000.
• JPMorgan Chase Tower between 2000 and 2006.
• 600 Travis between 2006 and 2021.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. Tower from 2021 until this day.

Its precise street address is 600 Travis St., Houston, TX. You can also find it on the map here.

The JPMorgan Chase Tower has received multiple architecture awards for its architectural design since 1982. The following is a list of such prizes and awards:

• Museum of Architecture and Design American Architecture Award in 2023
• First Annual Award for Distinguished Architecture by the Reliance Development Company in 1981
• Grand Conceptor Award for Engineering Excellence by the ACEC in 1981

The building underwent a major restoration between 2020 and 2021. The architect commissioned to undertake this restoration was HOK Inc.

I. M. Pei & Partners was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design, in association with 3D International.

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 JPMorgan Chase Tower a reality:

• CBM Engineers in charge of Structural Engineering
• Turner Construction Company as the Main Contractor
• Gerald D Hines Interests as the Main Developer
• I.A.Namn Associates in charge of MEP Engineering
• Joan Miro as the collaborating Artist

The JPMorgan Chase Tower can be categorized as a Modern Style building.

By their own nature, the Modern and International Styles can still look current, even in contemporary buildings. So that's not to say the JPMorgan Chase Tower appeared old or outdated when it was completed, but I. M. Pei & Partners certainly did not take many risks when it came to choosing the design style. This made the building look more "classic" and integrated within the city's architecture.

The JPMorgan Chase Tower uses a framed tube-in-tube structure , with reinforced concrete columns and beams.

A framed tube-in-tube structure uses a central core, known as inner tube, which usually holds stairs, lifts and installations, and a perimeter of columns around it, which form the exterior tube. The interior tube is tipically more massive (often made of reinforced concrete), and the exterior tube is "lighter" (made of steel or concrete columns). Both tubes are conencted via horizontal elements which make up the floors and also transmit any horizontal froces from the facade to the core.

The facade of the building is load bearing. This is a direct consequence of the integration of the exterior "tube" into the facade, something which most framed tube-in-tube buildings do in order to liberate the interior space from structural elements and achieve a more flexible interior.

So the facade of the builing is techinically load-bearing, yes, however, in between the load-bearing colums we find a modular facade system, which by itself would not be cosnidered load-bearing.

The main frontage spans 26 meters and is entirely column-free, offering an open and uninterrupted visual experience.

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features a polished, light-gray granite cladding and dark-tinted glass windows.

One corner of the structure is cut at a 45-degree angle, resulting in a unique five-sided facade.