101 California Street Building vs 575 Market Street Tower at Market Center

Comparing the 101 California Street Building and the 575 Market Street Tower at Market Center is interesting because they both rise in San Francisco, CA, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Johnson/Burgee Architects and Hertzka & Knowles, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than 7 years apart.

This contrast within the same city allows us to see how different creative minds interpreted the evolving needs of San Francisco across time.

Let's take a closer look!

The 101 California Street Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 600ft (183m) with 48 floors above ground, while the 575 Market Street Tower at Market Center reaches 574ft (175m) with 40 floors above ground.

Of course, each project may have faced different briefs or regulatory constraints, which we don't really know about and could also explain the outcome.

Both the 101 California Street Building and the 575 Market Street Tower at Market Center were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Postmodernism style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Johnson/Burgee Architects and Hertzka & Knowles followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

Both the 101 California Street Building and the 575 Market Street Tower at Market Center were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

Both towers share the same structural solution, a Frame system.

A frame structure uses a grid of columns and beams to carry the building's loads. This frees the walls from structural duties, allowing for flexible floor plans and larger windows.

However, when it comes to the facade, both buildings use different approaches. The 101 California Street Building uses a Curtain Wall facade, while the 575 Market Street Tower at Market Center uses a Window Wall facade.

A Curtain Wall facade like the one seen in the 101 California Street Building uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure, while a window-wall facade like the one seen in the 575 Market Street Tower at Market Center uses panels fitted between floor slabs, leaving slab edges visible.