Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower vs Salesforce Tower

Comparing the Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower and the Salesforce Tower is interesting because they both rise in Chicago, IL, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Goettsch Partners and Pelli Clark & Partners, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished over two decades apart.

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

Let's take a closer look!

The Salesforce Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 817ft (249m) with 57 floors above ground, while the Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower reaches 745ft (227m) with 54 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 Salesforce Tower 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 Salesforce Tower came later, when the style was already more established.

Both the Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower and the Salesforce Tower 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 Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower also provides 5226 parking spaces.

Both the Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower and the Salesforce Tower 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.