Tallest "split level" buildings?

[llamaorama]

Definition of "split level" for this context: A building which is built adjacent to a slope or hillside and therefore has more than floor that's at "street level' or "ground level".

Also, by tallest I don't just mean the building's total height. I mean the spread or difference from the lowest ground level entrance to the highest ground level entrance.

Also, for this I am not counting entrances t o tunnels, not even if they are technically above-grade bridge structures that form an enclosed space like Wacker Drive in Chicago. It needs to be an exit to daylight with natural dirt underneath.

For example, in downtown San Antonio, TX I remember the old Rivercenter mall had a riverwalk level with doors leading outside, and then the street level entrance was I believe the 3rd level. So that would count as +2.
I feel like split level buildings with differences of 2 to 3 stories aren't super rare, like any CBD with sloping ground like Seattle I'm sure has a few as do any river cities like Chicago.

I'm wondering if there are any genuinely tall buildings greater than 5 or maybe 10 more stories between separate ground levels? My first guesses would probably be something on the original island central core in Hong Kong where they have the escalators, or maybe Monaco. Chongqing and Naples are two other fairly vertiginous cities.Downtown LA has that one really steeply inclined area around where Angels's Flight and whatever that tunnel that appears in car commercials/movies is called. That might have something that could rank highly for the US only.

This is such an odd question that AI doesn't really seem to have an answer but maybe the nerds on SSP have a thought?

[xzmattzx]

Lothrop Hall in Pittsburgh is +2.5. It's two floors' difference, but the entrance at the top end is actually below sidewalk level.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.4414491,..._ep=EgoyMDI1MDUyOC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

That is just from memory. I bet you can find +4 somewhere in Pittsburgh.

[BrandonJXN]

The Gas Company Tower in LA is what I think you're thinking of. The entrance on Olive is much lower than the entrance on Grand.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Yer7PJN8THjMpTM99

[38 Geary]

Here's one in SF. The Ritz-Carlton. The ground level at Stockton St is 4 levels higher than the loading dock entrance on California St.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ACxDcQm1azftTNhM8
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ibbCKff2pUS9KtpGA

[38 Geary]

Here's one that is +5 if you go from the main entrance, down to the parking garage exit.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/vc7FZ1VU8oYVgXbVA
https://maps.app.goo.gl/sYzcpcJGsi6QX4A16

Here's another few that are in the +4ish maybe +5 range.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/CceGJoYazFQPKsxz6
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Gg1D6tvEHVU1xiiW8
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Xs2mnvT4Xy3y4ogc8

It's hard to tell from the photos, but the front entrance is about 5-6 floors below the back entrance:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/DRxks77ScMx6Dwgm9
https://maps.app.goo.gl/BNvGHt4EJzKzFviU9

This UCSF complex might be the winner in SF though, about 8-9 floors from the bottom of the hill to the top entrance.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/qiMc7nV67AZoetUe8
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Q2otgRjUajsgQqUY9

[SteveSimmons]

Thanks for sharing.

[JManc]

Has to be somewhere in Chongqing.

[lakegz]

Yea Chongqing has one building that's like ground floor on one side, 20th floor on the other. That city is insane (in a good way)

[KevinFromTexas]

What about Hong Kong?

[mattmccutchen]

I've been curious about this for a while, so I'm glad someone started a thread that I was then able to find in a web search. Two more examples I know of:

Wean Hall at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh is +4. I visited many years ago, which is what got me interested in the subject of large floor differences. There are various mentions on the web confirming my memory, e.g., here and here. High side view, low side view.

The Alaska State Office Building in Juneau looks like it's +6. The high entrance is on the 8th floor (source), but it's up one floor worth of outdoor stairs. High side view, low side view. The hat tip for this one goes to "Coming into the Country" by John McPhee.

[llamaorama]

Thanks everyone for their replies.

I wanted to share this place I found randomly in Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/fZ5e3NrDGwFYP3Rx9

It's an upscale suburban development on the west side of Mexico City that I think is called Bosque De Duraznos (all the buildings have that name + their address). It consists of office and mixed use buildings built on a cul-de-sac at the bottom of a narrow ravine with a mall called Parque Duraznos at the end. The back sides of the buildings have another entrance which is at the top of the ravine.

To enter the ravine the road goes under a tennis club and a different mall. At the mouth of the ravine there's a 15 floor residential tower whose 12th floor is at the same level as a road bridge (Bosques de La Reforma Blvd) that runs level with the surrounding terrain.

It's hard to count how many floors difference there is but I believe this building would be a +8 (9 floors including ground)

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Vg6FBHrUqBpAPuMb8

These residential towers built on a hillside also have a walkway from a parking garage on top of a hill. It's hard from Google Maps to try to determine the floor difference

https://maps.app.goo.gl/MhwymMBqsqyCeijb6

[Sofia5278]

You’re right — a 2–3 story difference isn’t rare at all, especially in hilly cities. For vast “split-level” differences, the best examples are usually in super-steep places like Hong Kong Island or Chongqing. There are buildings there where the lower entrance and upper entrance are literally 10+ floors apart because the streets sit at completely different heights.
I would also like to add that you can relax and unwind after a hard day at work https://bet-chickenroad.com/for-money/


Naples also has a few extreme cases built into cliffs, and downtown LA around Bunker Hill comes close for the U.S., but still not as dramatic as Hong Kong or Chongqing. Those cities are probably the top contenders if you’re looking for buildings with the biggest gap between their lowest and highest ground-level entrances.

[muppet]

This will blow your mind

• Video Link




Yep, Chongqing -you think you're on the ground floor:


https://preview.redd.it/n4maaejy9nt51.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&a7d27fe