181 Fremont Building vs One Rincon Hill South Tower

Comparing the 181 Fremont Building and the One Rincon Hill South Tower is interesting because they both rise in San Francisco, CA, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Heller Manus Architects and Solomon Cordwell Buenz, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than a decade apart.

This contrast within the same city allows us to see how different creative minds interpreted the evolving needs of San Francisco across time.

Let's take a closer look!

The 181 Fremont Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 810ft (247m) with 56 floors above ground, while the One Rincon Hill South Tower reaches 640ft (195m) with 54 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 181 Fremont Building 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 both Heller Manus Architects and Solomon Cordwell Buenz followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The 181 Fremont Building is primarily commercial, while the One Rincon Hill South Tower is primarily residential.

In terms of capacity, the 181 Fremont Building offers 55 apartments, while the One Rincon Hill South Tower provides 390 units.

The One Rincon Hill South Tower also provides 455 parking spaces.

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