One Worldwide Plaza vs Gas Company Tower

Comparing the One Worldwide Plaza and the Gas Company Tower is an interesting exercise, because even though they are located in different cities (New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA), both were designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and finished within within 2 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 Worldwide Plaza rises higher at 778ft (237m), while the Gas Company Tower reaches 748ft (228m). However, the Gas Company Tower accommodates more floors with 52 levels above ground, compared to 47 floors in the One Worldwide Plaza.

This suggests different approaches to interior space design. The One Worldwide Plaza has an average floor-to-floor height of approximately 5m, while the Gas Company Tower has more compact floors averaging around 4.4m each. The taller building's more generous floor heights might indicate grander interior spaces, higher ceilings, or different programmatic requirements.

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 One Worldwide Plaza and the Gas Company Tower were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Postmodernism style.

The Gas Company Tower was designed at a moment when the Postmodernism style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the One Worldwide Plaza was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

Both the One Worldwide Plaza and the Gas Company 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 One Worldwide Plaza also provides 475 parking spaces.

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 One Worldwide Plaza uses a Masonry facade, while the Gas Company Tower uses a Curtain Wall facade.

A Masonry facade like the one seen in the One Worldwide Plaza features a heavy masonry skin that gives it a more clasical look, while a curtain-wall facade like the one seen in the Gas Company Tower uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.