345 California Center vs Gas Company Tower

Comparing the 345 California Center and the Gas Company Tower is an interesting exercise, because even though they are located in different cities (San Francisco, CA and Los Angeles, CA), both were designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill 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 Gas Company Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 748ft (228m) with 52 floors above ground, while the 345 California Center reaches 620ft (189m) with 48 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 345 California Center and the Gas Company Tower were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Postmodernism style.

The Gas Company 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 345 California Center was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

The 345 California Center follows a mixed-use model, combining commercial and hotel. In contrast, the Gas Company Tower has remained primarily commercial.

The 345 California Center incorporates a 5-star hotel with 155 rooms. More information is available at the official website.

The 345 California Center also provides 180 parking spaces.

Both towers share the same structural solution, a Frame 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.

However, when it comes to the facade, both buildings use different approaches. The 345 California Center uses a Window Wall facade, while the Gas Company Tower uses a Curtain Wall facade.

A Window Wall facade like the one seen in the 345 California Center uses panels fitted between floor slabs, leaving slab edges visible, while a curtain-wall facade like the one seen in the Gas Company Tower uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.