The Tower at PNC Plaza

Overview

Opportunity

Solution

Impact

Team

The Tower at PNC Plaza redefines what a high-rise can be, integrating workplace innovation, climate-responsive design, and community connection in a single vision.

Location

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Client

PNC Financial Services Group

Expertise

Build to Suit & Headquarters Financial Services Climate Action & Sustainability Brand Design Strategy

Opportunity

Tasked with designing the world's greenest skyrise, the team challenged conventional assumptions about how office towers are planned, experienced, and operated.

Rather than assemble a catalogue of sustainable technologies, the project team set out to rethink the fundamentals of high-rise design. The goal was to create a workplace that elevated the employee experience while responding to Pittsburgh's climate and supporting downtown revitalization. Guided by three core ambitions: workplace innovation, climate responsiveness, and community building, the project became an opportunity to establish a new benchmark for integrated building performance and design excellence.

Why This Matters

01
Beyond Green Technology
The project explored whether meaningful gains in performance could come from reimagining the building itself rather than relying solely on added technologies.
02
Designing for People
Fresh air, daylight, collaboration, and choice were treated as essential ingredients of workplace performance, not amenities.
03
Investing in Pittsburgh
The headquarters was designed to contribute to the vitality of downtown Pittsburgh while creating stronger connections between the organization and the city.

FPO Quote

Solution

Inspired by a simple question, “what if a building could breathe?” the design embraced a passive-first approach that worked with climate rather than against it.

The tower integrates a breathable double-skin façade, solar chimney, daylight-optimized floor plates, and a vertically connected workplace environment. Oriented toward true south to maximize daylight and manage solar heat gain, the building combines passive and active systems to support performance and comfort. Inside, a network of two-story neighborhoods, collaborative destinations, terraces, and a five-story indoor park create a vertical campus that encourages movement, interaction, and connection. Together, these strategies unite environmental performance with a distinctly human workplace experience.

From brief to build: the project combined research, testing, and integrated design thinking to transform an ambitious sustainability vision into a new model for high-rise design.

A global assessment of leading sustainable buildings revealed an opportunity to push beyond established approaches. The design team developed a framework organized around workplace innovation, climate responsiveness, and community impact, allowing every design decision to support larger performance goals. Solar studies informed the tower's orientation, workplace research shaped the vertical campus concept, and lessons from post-occupancy findings influenced wellness strategies. Extensive mock-up testing refined critical systems before construction, helping align design intent with operational performance.

Three Pillars Framework

Three guiding pillars: workplace innovation, climate response, and community building were at the core of every design decision.

Impact

A benchmark project for high-performance office design, The Tower at PNC Plaza raised the bar for how high-rise buildings can perform for people and the planet.

By bringing together workplace innovation, environmental performance, and community engagement, the project demonstrated the value of an integrated approach to design.

What Changed Because of This

01
Building Performance
The project advanced a more holistic approach to high-rise sustainability by integrating passive and active design strategies.
02
Workplace Experience
Daylight, fresh air, shared destinations, and vertical neighborhoods created a workplace designed around connection and well-being.
03
Community Connection
Transparent public spaces and strong ties to Market Square helped establish the building as a key part of downtown Pittsburgh.

Recognition

01

Boston Society of Architects Design Awards

Named “Sustainable Design Award” Winner

02

Building Design + Construction

PNC's 'Breathing' Tower Redefines the Modern Office Building

03

Engineering News-Record

Awarded “Best of the Best”

Team

Project Leadership

Hao Ko

Hao is Gensler's Global Director of Design and a Regional Design Principal, focusing on building a dynamic practice through an open and collaborative culture. An inquisitive architect by nature, he is passionate about transforming experiences through deep research, the craft of technical excellence, and rigorous intellectual thought, all while striving to design beautiful places that change people's lives for the better.

Ben Tranel

Ben is an architect focused on the transformational power of design, specifically how the built environment communicates values and shapes human experiences. As Managing Director of Gensler's San Francisco office, he enjoys complex design challenges and guiding teams to discover creative solutions.

[FPO] Stefanie Shunk

Placeholder for office leadership name "Stefanie Shunk" — no matching pagePeople yet. "pnpm migrate resolve-stubs" swaps this for the real page once it exists.

Arlyn Vogelmann

Arlyn is a Principal at Gensler with deep expertise in strategy and planning, guiding organizations across industries through workplace transformation and helping clients create environments that support their people, strengthen culture, and align with long-term business priorities.

FAQ

01

Where is The Tower at PNC Plaza located?

The Tower at PNC Plaza is located in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, overlooking Market Square in the heart of the city.

02

What makes The Tower at PNC Plaza unique?

The tower was designed around the idea that a high-rise could “breathe,” combining a double-skin façade, solar chimney, and other climate-responsive strategies with a workplace designed to foster collaboration and connection.

03

How does the building support employee well-being?

The workplace is organized as a vertical campus with two-story neighborhoods, shared destinations, fresh air, daylight, terraces, and a five-story indoor park that encourages movement and interaction.

04

How energy-efficient is The Tower at PNC Plaza?

The Tower at PNC Plaza reduces energy use by 50% through a combination of passive and active design strategies, including a breathable double-skin façade and solar chimney. The building can also operate using net-zero energy during 42% of working hours.

Related Work

project

One Post Office Square Repositioning

The transformation of a 1980s office tower into a high-performance workplace destination proves adaptive reuse can create value while reducing carbon.

project

[FPO] The Hub on Causeway

Placeholder — not migrated yet.

project

[FPO] Capital One McLean Block A

Placeholder — not migrated yet.

project

360 North Green

At the northern edge of Fulton Market, 360 North Green establishes a new presence for Chicago’s professional services community in the city’s fastest-growing neighborhood.

Related Expertise

Build to Suit & Headquarters Financial Services Climate Action & Sustainability Brand Design Strategy

The Tower at PNC Plaza redefines what a high-rise can be, integrating workplace innovation, climate-responsive design, and community connection in a single vision.

Tasked with designing the world's greenest skyrise, the team challenged conventional assumptions about how office towers are planned, experienced, and operated.

Why This Matters

Inspired by a simple question, “what if a building could breathe?” the design embraced a passive-first approach that worked with climate rather than against it.

From brief to build: the project combined research, testing, and integrated design thinking to transform an ambitious sustainability vision into a new model for high-rise design.

A benchmark project for high-performance office design, The Tower at PNC Plaza raised the bar for how high-rise buildings can perform for people and the planet.

What Changed Because of This

Recognition