250 Vesey Street Building vs 777 Tower

Comparing the 250 Vesey Street Building and the 777 Tower is an interesting exercise, because even though they are located in different cities (New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA), both were designed by César Pelli & Associates and finished within within 5 years of each other. This gives us the chance to see how the same architect's ideas were expressed in different urban contexts almost simultaneously.

The 777 Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 725ft (221m) with 53 floors above ground, while the 250 Vesey Street Building reaches 499ft (152m) with 34 floors above ground.

Despite being taller and having more floors, 777 Tower has less total built-up area than 250 Vesey Street Building.

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 250 Vesey Street Building and the 777 Tower were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Postmodernism style.

The 777 Tower 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 250 Vesey Street Building was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

Both the 250 Vesey Street Building and the 777 Tower 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 towers rely on different structural systems, reflecting distinct engineering strategies.

The 250 Vesey Street Building uses a Frame structural system, which relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight, while the 777 Tower 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.