One Shell Square

One Shell Square
General information
Type	Commercial offices
Location	701 Poydras Street New Orleans, Louisiana
Coordinates	29.9502°N 90.0711°W / 29.9502; -90.0711{{#coordinates:29.9502|-90.0711|type:landmark_region:US-LA|||||| | |name= }}
Completed	1972
Height
Roof	212.45 m (697.0 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	51
Floor area	Office: 1,700,000 sq ft (160,000 m2) Retail: 32,700 sq ft (3,040 m2)
Design and construction
Architect	Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Developer	Hines Interests Limited Partnership
References

One Shell Square is a 51-story, 212.45 m (697.0 ft) skyscraper designed in the international style by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, located at 701 Poydras Street in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the tallest building in both the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. The building is primarily used for leaseable office space, with some retail space on the ground level. The design of the building is very similar to Houston's One Shell Plaza, also built by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Hines Interest is the developer of One Shell Square and Lincoln Property Company. Shell Oil Company is the building's largest tenant. Current occupancy of the building is approximately 90 percent.

Construction and design

One Shell Square was built using a double tube system, with a steel core and a concrete perimeter, and opened for business in 1972. The exterior of the building is clad in Italian travertine (limestone) and bronze glass. There has been concern over the years regarding the limestone's integrity during severe weather such as tropical systems. Fortunately, these fears did not play out during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 and the building weathered the storm with minimal damage, such as blown out windows and rain damage. The building reopened to tenants in December 2005.

At the time of its completion in 1972, One Shell Square was the tallest building in the Southeast, surpassing the Wachovia Bank of Georgia Building in Atlanta. It held the title of the Southeast's tallest building until 1976, when the Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta surpassed it. It was the first skyscraper in the South to surpass the 200 meter mark.

A heliport—the One Shell Square Emergency Heliport—is located on the roof of the tower.

Location

One Shell Square is bounded by Poydras Street to the south; Carondelet Street to the west; Perdido Street to the north, and St. Charles Avenue to the east.

One Shell Square has its own zipcode, 70139 surrounded by 70130.

See also

• List of tallest buildings by U.S. state
• List of tallest buildings in New Orleans

External links

• One Shell Square official Website
• One Shell Square at Hines Interests Limited Partnership
• Lincoln Property Company

Preceded by Plaza Tower

Tallest building in Louisiana 1972–Present

Succeeded by none

pl:One Shell Square