U.S. Bank Tower vs 777 Tower

Comparing the U.S. Bank Tower and the 777 Tower is interesting because they both stand in Los Angeles, CA, and were completed within 2 years of each other, but they were designed by different architects.

This offers a unique glimpse at how rival designers approached projects in the same city during the same era.

The U.S. Bank Tower is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 1017ft (310m) with 73 floors above ground, while the 777 Tower reaches 725ft (221m) with 53 floors above ground.

U.S. Bank Tower also offers more total built-up area, a total fo 1,754,516 sqf (163,000m²), which is about 654,531 sqf (60,808m²) more than what the 777 Tower offers.

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 U.S. Bank Tower and the 777 Tower were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Postmodernism style.

The 777 Tower was designed at a moment when the Postmodernism style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the U.S. Bank Tower was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

Both the U.S. Bank Tower and the 777 Tower were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

The U.S. Bank Tower also provides 1396 parking spaces.

Both the U.S. Bank Tower and the 777 Tower rely on a Framed Tube In Tube structural system.

A tube-in-tube system combines a reinforced central core with a perimeter of columns connected by floor slabs. This arrangement creates a stiff structure that resists both vertical and lateral forces efficiently.

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.