Spear Tower at One Market Plaza vs First Bank and Trust Tower

Comparing the Spear Tower at One Market Plaza and the First Bank and Trust Tower is compelling because they were both designed by Welton Becket & Associates, yet they stand in different cities (San Francisco, CA and New Orleans, LA), and were completed a decade 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 Spear Tower at One Market Plaza is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 564ft (172m) with 42 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.

The Spear Tower at One Market Plaza was designed in the International Style style, while the First Bank and Trust Tower reflects the principles of Postmodernism.

The Spear Tower at One Market Plaza represents a late expression of the International Style, a style already in decline in 1976 when it was completed. By contrast, the First Bank and Trust Tower followed the then mainstream Postmodernism, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

Both the Spear Tower at One Market Plaza 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 Spear Tower at One Market Plaza offering 162 spaces and the First Bank and Trust Tower offering 520.

Both towers share the same structural solution, a Frame 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.

However, when it comes to the facade, both buildings use different approaches. The Spear Tower at One Market Plaza uses a Modular facade, while the First Bank and Trust Tower uses a Curtain Wall facade.

A Modular facade like the one seen in the Spear Tower at One Market Plaza employs prefabricated panels, often mixing solid surfaces with smaller windows, while a curtain-wall facade like the one seen in the First Bank and Trust Tower uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.