Also known as: The California Bank and Trust Building Built: 1991 Designed by: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates Type: Skyscraper Stories: 28 Maximum Height: 351 feet / 107 meters Location: 550 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, United States
T he basic striped glass block has been modified in this building from KPF. The front facade bows outward in a graceful arc, improving the views from inside. Meanwhile at the top, a rather more complex ballet is underway. A jumble of rectangular forms accommodate an office penthouse, a mechanical penthouse, and an elevated helipad. The office penthouse is topped with a decorative crown that's really closer to a trellis than a sun shade. That, in turn, is connected to a vertical member which extends upward past the roof, and downward to the podium of the building, providing a bit of unity to a building that is something of a hodge-podge of architectural elements. That vertical element is partially echoed on the back of the building where it is used to help support the helipad. But instead of running down the entire back of the building, it abruptly ends six floors down.
Architect: William Pederson
Architecture firm: Kohn Pederson Fox
Architecture firm: Langdon Wilson
This building is faced in Swedish granite.
Floor size: 622,000 square feet
1997: Equity Office Properties Trust purchases this building from Obayashi Corporation for $99,500,000.
550 South Hope has a wiki page! Share your pictures, information and updates: 550_South_Hope
