181 Fremont Building vs The Avery Building

Comparing the 181 Fremont Building and the The Avery Building is interesting because they both stand in San Francisco, CA, and were completed just one year apart, 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.

Both the 181 Fremont Building and the The Avery Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Contemporary style.

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

The 181 Fremont Building is primarily commercial, while the The Avery Building is primarily residential.

In terms of capacity, the 181 Fremont Building offers 55 apartments, while the The Avery Building provides 548 units.

The The Avery Building also provides 218 parking spaces.

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

The 181 Fremont Building uses a Trussed Tube In Tube structural system, which combines a central core with a perimeter tube reinforced by diagonal bracing, while the The Avery Building uses a Frame system, that relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight.

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.