Houston
has already established itself as an energy center,
and has been struggling to establish a native banking
industry. These efforts are repeatedly thwarted by
the buyouts and mergers so common in that sector.
Thus, we have Wells Fargo Bank Plaza, formerly the
Allied Bank plaza. It was built to say "money." The
architects achieve this through a unique structure.
From the ground the building appears like any other
glass-clad rounded monolith. But from the air you
can see it is formed from two semicircles arranged
to mimic the shape of a dollar sign ($). This form,
however has its drawbacks. Most significantly when
combined with its narrow proximity to neighboring
towers, Louisiana Street forms a vortex of wind, making
life at street level miserable. Houston is used to
harsh treatment from Mother Nature, and that's why
the downtown tunnel system was created. The Wells
Fargo Bank Plaza thwarts nature's wind-lashing by
putting its pedestrian plazas and cafes below street
level. This also provides easy access to the tunnel
system, and creates a debate over exactly how tall
the building really is. From street level, it is 71-stories,
or 970-feet. But if most of your tenants enter through
pedestrian plazas somewhat lower, does that increase
the building's official height? This is only an issue
because Wells Fargo Bank Plaza is the second-tallest
building in the city, behind Chase
Tower at 75-stories and 1,002 feet. But does the
tower's essential subterranean element count towards
this goal, and would it change the ranking?
