One Rincon Hill South Tower vs The Harrison Building

Comparing the One Rincon Hill South Tower and the The Harrison Building is particularly interesting because they share the same skyline in San Francisco, CA, and were both designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz. However, they were completed more than 6 years apart.

This offers a unique perspective on how the architect's style and the city's architecture evolved over time.

The One Rincon Hill South Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 640ft (195m) with 54 floors above ground, while the The Harrison Building reaches 495ft (151m) with 49 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 One Rincon Hill South Tower and the The Harrison Building 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 Solomon Cordwell Buenz 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 One Rincon Hill South Tower and the The Harrison Building were designed to serve as residential towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

In terms of capacity, the One Rincon Hill South Tower offers 390 apartments, while the The Harrison Building provides 298 units.

The One Rincon Hill South Tower also provides 455 parking spaces.

These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.