Salesforce Tower vs One Rincon Hill South Tower

Salesforce Tower
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
326m
Floors
61

Height & Size

Height
195m
Floors
54

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.

Style
Contemporary

Architectural Style

Style
Contemporary

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.

Main use
Commercial

Uses

Main use
Residential

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
Framed Tube In Tube
Facade
Curtain Wall

Structure & Facade

Structure
Facade
Curtain Wall

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