LOS ANGELES | Wells Fargo Center | 723 FT x 560 FT | 54 FL x 45 FL | 1983
In my opinion, these skyscrapers are the definitive in 1980's office tower design. Sleek, modern, sharp, clean, corporate are words that I would use to describe the Wells Fargo Center. It's not fancy nor is it adorned with setbacks and mullions or any other decoration but at the same time, what draws you in is it's versatility in it's design. Is it a rectangle? Is it a triangle? A trapezoid? It's all of those things. A very nice piece of architecture that is often overlooked in the eyes of architecture buffs. A beautiful building inside and out.
Sharp pair of buildings - come to think of it, there isn't one high-rise in downtown LA that I'm not fond of. I've always thought downtown LA has an abundance of quality despite the lack of quantity.
__________________ "I'm going there, but I like it here wherever it is.."
Handsome, timeless. Is there retail at the base. Dating myself here, but I remember a column, presumably written by an architecture critic, contrasting what Hines was doing in Houston with what Maguire was doing in LA. The gist of the critique is that Wells Fargo interacted with the street better than Houston's Republic Bank Tower.
These were designed by SOM, correct? I love the way they capture light. When we lived in LA in the 80s, these buildings seemed so tall, now they're tiny compared to the US Bank Tower.
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We spread out and occupy the cracks in the urban streets.
Handsome, timeless. Is there retail at the base. Dating myself here, but I remember a column, presumably written by an architecture critic, contrasting what Hines was doing in Houston with what Maguire was doing in LA. The gist of the critique is that Wells Fargo interacted with the street better than Houston's Republic Bank Tower.
Not retail but a pretty nice food court called The Court that sits in between both towers.
A colleague of mine (now passed away) worked for SOM in the early 1980s and worked on these towers. He told me that originally they were to be 55 floors each in the initial designs. For whatever reason 1 floor got chopped on the taller tower and 10 on the smaller (he said that was for economic reasons). The original height was 760ft (I got that from a book years ago).
I've always really liked these buildings. I love the angle from near the Bonaventure that makes the shorter tower appear flat. I also really like the feel on the Grand Avenue side with the two Cal Plaza towers. The two complexes interact well at a sculptural level.
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Even if you are 1 in a million, there are still 8,000 people just like you...
I actually had photos pulled aside at one point to do this thread (but the ones in the OP are better).
Here's what I have:
I still contend that this building is taller than the BofA across the street. Both buildings sit on elevated plazas at the same level (Hope Street). In the skyline this building appears at least 30ft taller. For years it was listed at 750ft and then at some point was shortened to 723ft. Unless BofA is actually shorter than 735ft. I'm really not sure.
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Even if you are 1 in a million, there are still 8,000 people just like you...
I've long thought that LA has one of the best skylines going. No, not the biggest. No, not the tallest. But a very effective clutch of skyscrapers rising to a pinnacle. And respectably designed towers at that. Mountains in the background don't hurt either.
A long time ago I worked at WFC. They're nice buildings. I have noticed how the KPMG Tower looks paper thin from down at the Boneventure too. I remember that the office buildings with the angle corners were shaped oddly. I think a bus was smashed into it on the movie Swordfish too.