Wells Fargo Center vs 1801 California Building

Comparing the Wells Fargo Center and the 1801 California Building is interesting because they both stand in Denver, CO, and were completed in the same year, but they were designed by different architects.

This offers a unique glimpse at how rival designers approached projects in the same city during the same era.

The 1801 California Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 709ft (216m) with 54 floors above ground, while the Wells Fargo Center reaches 699ft (213m) with 50 floors above ground.

Despite being taller and having more floors, 1801 California Building has less total built-up area than Wells Fargo Center.

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 Wells Fargo Center and the 1801 California Building 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 Metz, Train & Youngren 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 Wells Fargo Center and the 1801 California 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 Wells Fargo Center also provides 350 parking spaces.

The two towers rely on different structural systems, reflecting distinct engineering strategies.

The Wells Fargo Center uses a Frame structural system, which relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight, while the 1801 California Building uses a Framed Tube In Tube system, that combines a strong central core with a perimeter tube of columns.

Yet, when it comes to their facade, they both employed the same solution, a Curtain Wall facade.

A curtain wall is a non-load-bearing facade hung from the structural frame. It is anchored to floor slabs and transfers only its own weight and wind loads, allowing for sleek, glassy exteriors.