Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower vs Park Tower at Transbay

Comparing the Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower and the Park Tower at Transbay is compelling because they were both designed by Goettsch Partners, yet they stand in different cities (Chicago, IL and San Francisco, CA), 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 Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 745ft (227m) with 54 floors above ground, while the Park Tower at Transbay reaches 604ft (184m) with 43 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 Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower and the Park Tower at Transbay were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Contemporary style.

Back then, theContemporary was still an emerging movement, so both giving it a pioneering role. By contrast, the Park Tower at Transbay came later, when the style was already more established.

Both the Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower and the Park Tower at Transbay were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower offering 5226 spaces and the Park Tower at Transbay offering 117.

Both the Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower and the Park Tower at Transbay 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.