Architecture of the Commonwealth Building

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Commonwealth Building
KOIN Center

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Commonwealth Building

Built:	1947-1948
Formerly:	The Equitable Building
Designed by:	Pietro Belluschi
Maximum Height:	194 feet
Stories:	13
Type:	Skyscraper »» Click here to see other skyscrapers.
Location:	421 Southwest Sixth Avenue

Another grid-based box by modern standards; what this building has in spades is a history of innovation. It was the first skyscraper to use double-paned glass. Air conditioning helped make it the first sealed building America. It was the first to use a flush curtain wall design. It was the first to be clad completely in aluminum, and it is among the first to demonstrate what would eventually become an architectural paradigm – the glass block.

Only the first 12 stories are original. The 13th was added later.
1970's - The lobby is renovated, making it incongruous with the rest of the structure.
1982 - The building is honored with the American Institute of Architects 25-Year Honor Award.
1987-1990 - Soderstrom Architects works with the original architect to update the lobby and bring it closer to its original intent.

Photograph courtesy of Larry Harris

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