expertise > Architecture > Skyscrapers + Tall Buildings
Northwestern Mutual Headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Eighth Avenue Place in Calgary, Alberta
BG Group Place in Houston, Texas

Skyscrapers + Tall Buildings

Pickard Chilton is internationally recognized for its expertise in the design of iconic super tall buildings, high-rise office towers and mixed-use developments for a wide variety of prestigious clients in locations around the world. Throughout their careers spanning four decades, the firm’s principals have led the design of some of the world’s most significant and recognized landmark architecture.

We believe that vertical landmarks possess the innate ability to express optimism and come to symbolize the aspirations of an institution, a city, and even a country. However, our deep passion for their design is both pragmatic and artistic, embracing constraints, working the design toward clarity of form and strength of concept. Our towers, designed within strict parameters of marketability, efficient circulation, stringent structural and mechanical requirements, as well as economic viability, transcend mere function to become inhabited and esteemed icons of their cities. 

Pickard Chilton has a distinguished history of implementing urban design and architecture to embrace and enhance our urban fabric. We create built environments that satisfy our clients’ ambitions while exceeding the expectations of those who live, visit, and work in and around our projects. We believe that these buildings are not static and that they exist in dynamic environments inhabited by a community of people who come to embrace their welcoming character. Buildings that truly belong to their community and city can dramatically transform their urban environments and serve as major catalysts for the long-term growth and vibrancy of their downtowns.

Related Work

530 Howard Street, a proposed residential tower in San Francisco

Rising 840 feet (255 meters) from San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood, 530 Howard is a residential tower designed to complement the city’s skyline while maximizing views to San Francisco Bay. The transit-oriented development incorporates a fifth-floor pedestrian bridge directly connecting to the 5.4-acre Salesforce Park and the Salesforce Transit Center. The tower will be taller than any existing apartment building in the city, and will be the third tallest in the city.

Designed as a landmark building for Cambridge’s Kendall-Square, Google’s new headquarters promotes collaboration across two existing buildings to create an urban campus and connection to the community.

2+U is a Class-A office tower, envisioned as a first-of-its-kind urban Village, located in one of the most strategic locations in downtown Seattle.

Tokyo Midtown Yaesu building connected to Tokyo Station, featuring a modern glass facade and surrounded by a bustling urban landscape.

Envisioned as a human-scaled and sustainable transit-oriented development, Tokyo Midtown Yaesu is a 240-meter, mixed-use tower with a below-grade transportation hub offering direct access to Tokyo Station. 

Pickard Chilton’s award-winning building design for Northwestern Mutual’s Tower and Commons was completed in 2017. With nearly 2,000 employees transitioning in the coming years from their Franklin campus to downtown Milwaukee, the company wanted to welcome them with a facility comparable in quality and features to the Tower and Commons.

As such, Northwestern Mutual is undertaking the comprehensive renovation and upgrade of its North Office Building. By sustainably repurposing the existing foundations and tower structure, the design will minimize the project’s overall carbon footprint to deliver a larger yet more efficient and comfortable facility to best serve the needs and wellbeing of their employees and clients.

The design proposal for Avocet Tower, a transit-oriented development project designed with an enhanced shading system.

Avocet Tower is a new mixed-use, transit-oriented development, comprising nearly 400,000 gsf of class-A office space, a 220-key hotel, above- and below-grade parking.

Devon Energy Center features a six-story glass rotunda with interior balconies serving as the entrance and connecting hub for the 50 story corporate headquarters tower. 

River Point presents a shimmering, curved façade at the confluence of the Chicago River with a 1.5-acre, terraced public park on the riverfront encouraging pedestrian activity.

A view of The Eight at dusk. a next-generation Class A commercial office development in Bellevue’s downtown core that will serve as the gateway to the city center

The Eight is a next-generation Class A commercial office development in Bellevue’s downtown core with 500,000 square feet of office space and five levels of below-grade parking.

Master planned on a 20-acre site on the South Side of downtown Dallas, Newpark Dallas has been envisioned as a transformative and sustainable mixed-use development that will imbue in the heart of Dallas a renewed vitality and a collection of welcoming pedestrian-oriented spaces. 

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We are passionate about our clients, our work, and the positive impact of every building we design. If you have a difficult design challenge, contact us to create a solution that realizes your vision.