Gas Company Tower vs 777 Tower

Comparing the Gas Company Tower and the 777 Tower is interesting because they both stand in Los Angeles, CA, and were completed in the same year, 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.

These two towers present an interesting contrast in their proportions. The Gas Company Tower rises higher at 748ft (228m), while the 777 Tower reaches 725ft (221m). However, the 777 Tower accommodates more floors with 53 levels above ground, compared to 52 floors in the Gas Company Tower.

This suggests different approaches to interior space design. The Gas Company Tower has an average floor-to-floor height of approximately 4.4m, while the 777 Tower has more compact floors averaging around 4.2m each.

These different proportions likely reflect the specific needs each building was designed to serve, whether driven by zoning regulations, client requirements, or the intended use of the spaces within. The contrast shows how architects can achieve different spatial experiences even when working with similar overall building scales.

Both the Gas Company Tower and the 777 Tower were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Postmodernism style.

Both buildings were completed when the Postmodernism style was already past its peak. This makes them feel like late echoes of the movement, more reflective of continuity or nostalgia than of cutting-edge design at the time.

Both the Gas Company Tower and the 777 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 two towers rely on different structural systems, reflecting distinct engineering strategies.

The Gas Company Tower uses a Frame structural system, which relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight, while the 777 Tower uses a Framed Tube In Tube system, that combines a strong central core with a perimeter tube of columns.

Yet, when it comes to their facade, they both employed the same solution, 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.