Millennium Centre vs One Rincon Hill South Tower

Comparing the Millennium Centre and the One Rincon Hill South Tower is an interesting exercise, because even though they are located in different cities (Chicago, IL and San Francisco, CA), both were designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz and finished within within 5 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.

These two towers present an interesting contrast in their proportions. The One Rincon Hill South Tower rises higher at 640ft (195m), while the Millennium Centre reaches 610ft (185.9m). However, the Millennium Centre accommodates more floors with 58 levels above ground, compared to 54 floors in the One Rincon Hill South Tower.

This suggests different approaches to interior space design. The One Rincon Hill South Tower has an average floor-to-floor height of approximately 3.6m, while the Millennium Centre has more compact floors averaging around 3.2m 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 Millennium Centre and the One Rincon Hill South Tower 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 Solomon Cordwell Buenz 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 Millennium Centre and the One Rincon Hill South Tower were designed to serve as residential towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

In terms of capacity, the Millennium Centre offers 341 apartments, while the One Rincon Hill South Tower provides 390 units.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with Millennium Centre offering 680 spaces and the One Rincon Hill South Tower offering 455.

These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.