Salesforce Tower vs One Rincon Hill South Tower


Comparing the Salesforce Tower 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, Pelli Clark & Partners 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!
Height & Size
The Salesforce Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 1070ft (326m) with 61 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.
Architectural Style
Both the Salesforce Tower 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 Pelli Clark & Partners 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.
Uses
The Salesforce Tower is primarily commercial, while the One Rincon Hill South Tower is primarily residential.
The One Rincon Hill South Tower offers 390 residential units.
The One Rincon Hill South Tower also provides 455 parking spaces.
Structure & Facade
These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.
Salesforce Tower | One Rincon Hill South Tower | |
---|---|---|
Pelli Clark & Partners | Architect | Solomon Cordwell Buenz |
2013 | Construction Started | 2005 |
2018 | Year Completed | 2008 |
Contemporary | Architectural Style | Contemporary |
Commercial | Current Use | Residential |
61 | Floors Above Ground | 54 |
3 | Floors Below Ground | 7 |
275 | Last Floor Height | 184 |
326 m | Height (m) | 195 m |
34 | Number of Elevators | 4 |
Steel | Vertical Structure Material | Reinforced Concrete |
Reinforced Concrete | Horizontal Structure Material | Reinforced Concrete |
No | Facade Structural? | No |
Glass, Metal | Main Facade Material | Glass |
Clark Constrruction, And Hathaway Dinwiddie Joint Venture | Main Contractor | Bovis Lend Lease |
Boston Properties, Inc., And Hines Interests Limited Partnership | Developer | Urban West Associates |
Schindler | Elevator Company | Mitsubishi Electirc Elevators |
WSP Group | MEP Engineer | CB Engineers |
Magnusson Klemencic Associates | Structural Engineer | Magnusson Klemencic Associates |
CA | State | CA |
San Francisco | City | San Francisco |
415 Mission Street | Address | 425 First Street |