Pennzoil Place vs 190 South LaSalle Street

Comparing the Pennzoil Place and the 190 South LaSalle Street is compelling because they were both designed by Johnson/Burgee Architects, yet they stand in different cities (Houston, TX and Chicago, IL), 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 190 South LaSalle Street is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 574ft (175m) with 40 floors above ground, while the Pennzoil Place reaches 522ft (159m) 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.

Both the Pennzoil Place and the 190 South LaSalle Street were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Postmodernism style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So Johnson/Burgee Architects 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 Pennzoil Place and the 190 South LaSalle Street 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 Pennzoil Place offering 525 spaces and the 190 South LaSalle Street offering 55.

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 Pennzoil Place uses a Curtain Wall facade, while the 190 South LaSalle Street uses a Modular facade.

A Curtain Wall facade like the one seen in the Pennzoil Place uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure, while a modular facade like the one seen in the 190 South LaSalle Street employs prefabricated panels, often mixing solid surfaces with smaller windows.