HOUSTON | Bank of America Center | 780 FT / 238 M | 56 FLOORS | 1984
The Bank of America Center (formerly the RepublicBank Center, NCNB Center, and NationsBank Center) in Houston, Texas is one of the first significant examples of postmodern architecture built in downtown Houston. The building, completed in 1984 and designed by award winning architect Phillip Johnson and partner John Burgee, is reminiscent of the Dutch Gothic architecture of canal houses in The Netherlands. The tower was developed by and is owned by Hines Interests. The building maintains a significant impact on the downtown Houston skyline and is considered one of Houston's most important buildings architecturally.
At 56 stories the building is the 49th tallest building in the United States and is the seventh tallest building in Texas.
The northeast corner of the structure houses a building within a building. On the site is the main Western Union building and when relocation of the telegraph cables proved infeasible new structure was built over the site and the existing structure was incorporated into the new building intact.
This one was always one of my favorite buildings, but the more I look at it the more I realize how overly bulky it is. It also irks me how the setbacks aren't all equally proportioned. My third complaint about the building is the sides are too plain and cold looking. I think if they would have did the windows/glass similar to Atlanta's One Atlantic Center or Detroit's One Detroit Center (formerly the Comerica Tower) than I think it would look better. Lastly, I think this building is starting to look dated, mainly due to its base, which also looks cold and uninviting.
With all that said, I do think the overall idea works and is pretty cool. I love the peaks and spires. I'm all about sipires and peaks and all that. This is still an awesome building.
My second favorite building in Houston after Heritage Plaza. One thing that alway's comes to mind, is how this building would look in the Charlotte skyline. I think it would be a perfect fit with BOA, and Hearst.