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One Atlantic Center

One Atlantic Center, also known as IBM Tower, is a skyscraper located in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. It is the third tallest building in Atlanta.

History

It is the third-tallest in Atlanta, reaching a height of 820 ft with 50 stories of office space with a total building area of 1,187,676 sq.ft.[5] When the slender concrete core was completed in October 1986, it was the tallest slipformed skyscraper in the country.[6] It was completed in 1987 and remained the tallest building in Atlanta until 1992, when it was surpassed by the Bank of America Plaza, which was built on the northern edge of Downtown adjacent to Midtown. It was also the tallest building in the southeastern U.S. at the time of completion, surpassing the Southeast Financial Center in Miami. In the 1990s, IBM, along with other large corporations, changed financial focus to leverage assets and decrease real estate holdings. IBM sold this property, along with others.

Architecture

The building was commissioned by Prentiss Properties as a southeastern headquarters for IBM, a company responsible for many notable skyscrapers of the 1980s. A local and well known engineer, Blake Van Leer, was the lead engineer for the project. Van Leer worked on most of the major skyline projects in the area during the 70s and 80s.[7] Aside from introducing Atlanta to the postmodern architectural idiom of the 80s, this tower is notable for essentially creating what is now the Midtown commercial district. Located at the then-remote corner of 14th and West Peachtree Street over a mile from Downtown, this building nevertheless opened nearly fully occupied and thus attracted developers to Midtown.

The design of the building was influenced by the Tribune Tower in Chicago, which is most evident in the base of the building as well as the main body.[8][9][10] The building's exterior is clad in pink Spanish granite and culminates in a copper pyramidal top with a gold peak. The design includes gothic flourishes, most noticeably below the copper top of the building. At night the peak and ridges along the top are illuminated brightly, creating a glowing effect.

Other phases

It was joined in 2001 by the much shorter Regions Plaza building (formerly known as the Atlantic Center Plaza),[11] which bears similar postmodern design and was constructed across the street as the second phase of the Atlantic Center development. Regions Plaza's design and architecture are so similar to the One Atlantic Center that it has affectionately become known in Atlanta as the "Mini Me" building, named after the comical dwarfish clone of Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movies.[12]

Development

One Atlantic Center was designed by Johnson/Burgee Architects. As associate architect, Heery International, Inc. produced the contract documents. Both Atlantic Center Towers were constructed by HCBeck, now known as The Beck Group.

Major tenants

See also

  • List of tallest buildings in Atlanta
  • List of tallest buildings in the United States

External links

References

  1. Emporis building ID 121138 Emporis^
  2. {{Glass Steel and Stone|686}}^
  3. {{SkyscraperPage|1875}}^
  4. {{Structurae|20025136}}^
  5. One Atlantic Center CrediFi, retrieved 16 October 2016^
  6. LASERS GUIDE SLIPFORMING OF ATLANTA'S IBM TOWER Concrete Construction^
  7. Blake Van Leer Obituary (2024) Legacy.com^
  8. Paul Goldberger. ARCHITECTURE VIEW; American Gothic Rides High in Atlanta's I.B.M. Building The New York Times, 8 May 1988^
  9. One Atlantic Center 5 March 2015^
  10. One Atlantic Center, Atlanta | 121138 Emporis, 1985-05-07, retrieved 2022-05-02^
  11. Barbra Murray. Regions Bank Stays Put in Atlanta With 100 KSF Lease Renewal Commercial Property Executive, June 1, 2022, retrieved November 4, 2025^
  12. Kyle Hagerty. 10 Buildings With The Perfect Nicknames Bisnow, March 3, 2017, retrieved November 4, 2025^