JPMorgan Chase Tower (formerly Texas Commerce Tower)

The tower complex includes a one-acre public plaza, a 2,000-car garage with 40,000 square feet of space for retail and athletic facilities, and a pedestrian concourse that interconnects these elements and links to Houston’s subterranean tunnel system. Clad in polished pale gray granite and dual-pane glass, the 1,000-foot-high structure departs from convention with one corner sheared off at a 45-degree angle, producing a slender five-sided structure whose main facade is an 85-foot column-free span with panoramic views of Houston’s west side.

Integral to the complex is the paved and landscaped plaza that occupies two-thirds of the full-block site, with the tower positioned off-center at the northeast corner. With its monumental sculpture by Joan Miro, the plaza forms a natural link to the surrounding buildings while providing an exciting urban focus for life in downtown Houston.