340 on the Park Building vs Salesforce Tower

Comparing the 340 on the Park Building and the Salesforce Tower is interesting because they both rise in Chicago, IL, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Solomon Cordwell Buenz and Pelli Clark & Partners, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than a decade apart.

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

Let's take a closer look!

These two towers present an interesting contrast in their proportions. The Salesforce Tower rises higher at 817ft (249m), while the 340 on the Park Building reaches 672ft (204.8m). However, the 340 on the Park Building accommodates more floors with 62 levels above ground, compared to 57 floors in the Salesforce Tower.

This suggests different approaches to interior space design. The Salesforce Tower has an average floor-to-floor height of approximately 4.4m, while the 340 on the Park Building has more compact floors averaging around 3.3m each. The taller building's more generous floor heights might indicate grander interior spaces, higher ceilings, or different programmatic requirements.

These different proportions likely reflect the specific needs each building was designed to serve, whether driven by zoning regulations, client requirements, or the intended use of the spaces within. The contrast shows how architects can achieve different spatial experiences even when working with similar overall building scales.

Both the 340 on the Park Building and the Salesforce Tower 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 Solomon Cordwell Buenz and Pelli Clark & Partners followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The 340 on the Park Building is primarily residential, while the Salesforce Tower is primarily commercial.

The 340 on the Park Building offers 344 residential units.

The 340 on the Park Building also provides 468 parking spaces.

Both the 340 on the Park Building and the Salesforce Tower rely on a Frame structural 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.

They also employ the same type of facade, 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.