101 California Street Building vs Two International Place Building

Comparing the 101 California Street Building and the Two International Place Building is compelling because they were both designed by Johnson/Burgee Architects, yet they stand in different cities (San Francisco, CA and Boston, MA), and were completed a decade apart.

What this will allow us to see, is how the same firm's approach adapted to different places at roughly the same time (10 years isn't that much time when it comes to urban context and architecture).

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 Two International Place Building reaches 538ft (164m) with 35 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 Two International Place Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Postmodernism style.

The Two International Place Building was designed at a moment when the Postmodernism style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the 101 California Street Building was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

Both the 101 California Street Building and the Two International Place Building were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

The two buildings opted for different structural and facade solutions.

The 101 California Street Building uses a Frame system, which relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight, while the Two International Place Building uses a Framed Tube In Tube system, that combines a strong central core with a perimeter tube of columns.

And when it came to the facade, the Curtain Wall went with a Curtain Wall facade, which uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure, while the Two International Place Building opted for a Modular facade, that employs prefabricated panels, often mixing solid surfaces with smaller windows.