Architectural competition decided

• UNStudio proves itself against 10 competitors
• The four new towers will form a single complex
• Public exhibition of the results at the beginning of March

Frankfurt, 09/02/2016

The winner of the architectural competition for the redesign of the former Deutsche Bank site has been announced: UNStudio from Amsterdam convinced the eight member jury comprising of representatives of the city, architecture and urban planning experts and Groß & Partner Grundstücksentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, who gave a unanimous verdict. One third prize each went to the consortiums Dudler/Jahn and MSW/Snohetta, and the design by Christoph Mäckler/CoopHimmelblau received recognition.

A total of fifteen national and international architecture firms submitted their entries. The applicants included individual firms and several consortiums. The challenge was to design a mixed-use, urban quarter consisting of four high-rise buildings and a multi-storey, connecting plinth building in the heart of Frankfurt’s city centre – a new attraction for the people in the Main metropolis. Shops, restaurants and hotels are as much a part of this as an extensive range of residential properties, into which 8,000 m² of floor space will be integrated in accordance with the city of Frankfurt am Main and the State of Hesse’s funding programmes. The four up to 233-metre high towers will redefine Frankfurt’s skyline.

The winning design by UNStudio convinced the jury above all with its diverse and attractive spatial profile, the way the four towers work together as a single complex as well as the spatial quality, which is also reflected in the integration of the listed buildings at Junghofstrasse. The uncompromising opening up of the urban quarter guarantees a new network of inner-city routes between the banking district, Rossmarkt, Kaiserplatz and the shopping locations Goethestraße and Alte Oper.

Urban quarter of the future

“I am pleased that the four towers will create a new and vibrant location in the heart of Frankfurt city centre. The project gives us a chance to increase Frankfurt’s attractiveness as an interesting and liveable city on an international level and makes an important contribution to the development of our city. We rate UNStudio’s design as very successful because the four towers enrich the skyline not only architecturally but also as a point of interest for the public,” says Jürgen Groß, managing partner at Groß & Partner.

Groß & Partner are creating a new public space in a part of the city centre that has been closed off for more than 45 years. At least 3,000 people will work in the new district and around 1,000 people will live there. In addition to apartments and offices, the area will feature restaurants, retail outlets, hotels, corner shops, a children’s daycare centre and leisure space.

City councillor Mike Josef is happy with the result of the competition: “The project plays a pioneering role in the transformation of Frankfurt’s financial district into a mixed-use quarter. The redesigned area will offer more mixed-use space, a new square, a publicly accessible roof area as well as affordable living space. The previously closed-off area in the city centre will become accessible to the public. It will be a vibrant quarter where people work and one that offers living space for anyone.”

The contributions of all the architects will be on public display at Junghofstrasse 11 on the former Deutsche Bank site from 4 March to 18 March. The go-ahead for the construction of the new quarter is expected to be given this year, and the plan is for the first buildings to be opened in 2021.