Energy Centre Building vs First Bank and Trust Tower

Comparing the Energy Centre Building and the First Bank and Trust Tower is interesting because they both stand in New Orleans, LA, and were completed within 3 years of each other, but they were designed by different architects.

This offers a unique glimpse at how rival designers approached projects in the same city during the same era.

The Energy Centre Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 531ft (162m) with 39 floors above ground, while the First Bank and Trust Tower reaches 482ft (147m) with 36 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 Energy Centre Building and the First Bank and Trust Tower were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Postmodernism style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both HKS Inc. and Welton Becket & Associates followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

Both the Energy Centre Building and the First Bank and Trust 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.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with Energy Centre Building offering 982 spaces and the First Bank and Trust Tower offering 520.

Both the Energy Centre Building and the First Bank and Trust 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.