44 Montgomery Street Building vs Spear Tower at One Market Plaza

Comparing the 44 Montgomery Street Building and the Spear Tower at One Market Plaza is interesting because they both rise in San Francisco, CA, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, John Graham & Company and Welton Becket & Associates, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than 9 years apart.

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

Let's take a closer look!

Both the 44 Montgomery Street Building and the Spear Tower at One Market Plaza were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the International Style style.

The Spear Tower at One Market Plaza was designed at a moment when the International Style style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the 44 Montgomery Street Building was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

Both the 44 Montgomery Street Building and the Spear Tower at One Market Plaza 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 Spear Tower at One Market Plaza also provides 162 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 44 Montgomery Street Building uses a Curtain Wall facade, while the Spear Tower at One Market Plaza uses a Modular facade.

A Curtain Wall facade like the one seen in the 44 Montgomery Street Building uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure, while a modular facade like the one seen in the Spear Tower at One Market Plaza employs prefabricated panels, often mixing solid surfaces with smaller windows.