555 California Street Building vs 7 World Trade Center

Comparing the 555 California Street Building and the 7 World Trade Center 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 7 World Trade Center reaches 741ft (226m) with 51 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 288,882 sqf (26,838m²) more than what the 7 World Trade Center offers.

The 555 California Street Building also concentrates more floor area on its site, indicating a higher floor area ratio.

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 7 World Trade Center 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 7 World Trade Center, on the other hand, followed the more established Contemporary, reflecting the prevailing conventions of its day.

Both the 555 California Street Building and the 7 World Trade Center 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 towers rely on different structural systems, reflecting distinct engineering strategies.

The 555 California Street Building uses a Framed Tube In Tube structural system, which combines a strong central core with a perimeter tube of columns, while the 7 World Trade Center uses a Frame system, that relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight.

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.