BMO Tower vs Park Tower at Transbay

Comparing the BMO Tower and the Park Tower at Transbay is an interesting exercise, because even though they are located in different cities (Chicago, IL and San Francisco, CA), both were designed by Goettsch Partners and finished within within 3 years of each other. This gives us the chance to see how the same architect's ideas were expressed in different urban contexts almost simultaneously.

The BMO Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 728ft (222m) with 51 floors above ground, while the Park Tower at Transbay reaches 604ft (184m) with 43 floors above ground.

BMO Tower also offers more total built-up area, a total fo 1,739,995 sqf (161,651m²), which is about 936,298 sqf (86,985m²) more than what the Park Tower at Transbay 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.

Both the BMO Tower and the Park Tower at Transbay were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Contemporary style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So Goettsch Partners followed what was in many ways expected at the time, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms rather, than breaking with convention.

Both the BMO 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 BMO Tower offering 324 spaces and the Park Tower at Transbay offering 117.

Both the BMO 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.