555 California Street Building vs 383 Madison Avenue Building

Comparing the 555 California Street Building and the 383 Madison Avenue Building is compelling because they were both designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, yet they stand in different cities (San Francisco, CA and New York, NY), and were completed over two decades apart.

What this will allow us to see, is how the same firm's approach adapted to different places in different periods of time.

The 555 California Street Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 778ft (237m) with 52 floors above ground, while the 383 Madison Avenue Building reaches 755ft (230m) with 47 floors above ground.

555 California Street Building also offers more total built-up area, a total fo 1,969,998 sqf (183,019m²), which is about 785,969 sqf (73,019m²) more than what the 383 Madison Avenue Building offers.

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.

The 555 California Street Building was designed in the Postmodernism style, while the 383 Madison Avenue Building reflects the principles of Contemporary.

The 555 California Street Building was completed when the Postmodernism was still emerging, which gave it a pioneering character. The 383 Madison Avenue Building, on the other hand, followed the more established Contemporary, reflecting the prevailing conventions of its day.

Both the 555 California Street Building and the 383 Madison Avenue Building 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 555 California Street Building also provides 450 parking spaces.

The two buildings opted for different structural and facade solutions.

The 555 California Street Building uses a Framed Tube In Tube system, which combines a strong central core with a perimeter tube of columns, while the 383 Madison Avenue Building uses a Frame system, that relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight.

And when it came to the facade, the Curtain Wall went with a Curtain Wall facade, which uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure, while the 383 Madison Avenue Building opted for a Modular facade, that employs prefabricated panels, often mixing solid surfaces with smaller windows.