Salesforce West vs Random House Tower

Comparing the Salesforce West and the Random House Tower is compelling because they were both designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, yet they stand in different cities (San Francisco, CA and New York, NY), 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 Random House Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 682ft (208m) with 52 floors above ground, while the Salesforce West reaches 600ft (183m) with 43 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.

The Salesforce West was designed in the Postmodernism style, while the Random House Tower reflects the principles of Contemporary.

At the time of their completion, both styles were well established. This makes the comparison especially interesting, because both buildings represent a dominant aesthetic at a particular point in time.

The Random House Tower follows a mixed-use model, combining commercial and residential. In contrast, the Salesforce West has remained primarily commercial.

The Random House Tower offers 101 residential units.

Both towers provide significant parking capacity, with Salesforce West offering 220 spaces and the Random House Tower offering 150.

Both the Salesforce West and the Random House Tower rely on a Frame structural 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.

They also employ the same type of facade, a Curtain Wall facade.

A curtain wall is a non-load-bearing facade hung from the structural frame. It is anchored to floor slabs and transfers only its own weight and wind loads, allowing for sleek, glassy exteriors.