Project information
- Project: Bürohochhaus Senckenbergturm (Frankfurt)
- Client: 99 West Tower GmbH & Co. KG and BNP Paribas Real Estate Holding GmbH (Project developers)
- Architects: cyrus moser architekten BDA (Frankfurt)
- Façade planners: DS-Plan (Stuttgart)
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Façade construction: Rupert App GmbH & Co. (Leutkirch)
- Façade system: Hydro Building Systems/Wicona (Ulm)
- Completion: 2021
The new Senckenberg Quarter stretches between the Bockenheim and Westend districts in Frankfurt Westend. A significant feature of the huge area is the
106-metre high Senckenberg Tower. The office building, designed by cyrus moser architekten BDA (Frankfurt), showcases the highest international quality standards in high-rise construction combined with consistently sustainable and future-oriented construction, not least due to its innovative WICONA element façade made from Hydro CIRCAL recycled end-of-life aluminium.
Harmonious integration into the urban context
The Senckenberg Quarter marks the southern end of Frankfurt's new Kulturcampus Quarter on the former site of the AfE Tower at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. At the same time, it serves as an urban hinge between the neighbouring districts. In 2016, the Frankfurt office of cyrus moser architekten won an international competition and was commissioned with producing a concept for the new development. The idea behind the new quarter was to create a combination of striking cubature and simple elegance in conjunction with high urban development quality. The planned building ensemble should be open to the neighbourhood and therefore integrate seamlessly into the existing inner-city network. Therefore, four essential buildings are now harmoniously combined in the Senckenberg Quarter: The hybrid high-rise ONE FORTY WEST, the Senckenberg Tower, the solitary office building 21 West Office and a modern child day care centre.
Senckenberg Tower: Architectural concept and façade design
The Senckenberg Tower is one of the two tallest points of the four-part ensemble. With its trapezoidal ground plan, the striking tower provides the neighbouring ONE FORTY WEST with the maximum amount of space despite its narrowness while simultaneously unleashing its own identity and impact on the urban space. Across 26 floors, the slim office tower offers the perfect environment for future-oriented work, concentrated teamwork and individual free spaces, tailored precisely to the needs of innovative companies. Up to 1,200 employees will find work there in the future. The façade architecture designed by cyrus moser is a real eye-catcher. The reduced silhouette of the tower is visually divided by two seams. These deliberate incisions provide a clear distinction between the plinth, shaft and crown. Several storeys are combined into units that vary in rhythm. This principle of layered volume makes it possible to respond to the particular features of the individual floors and is particularly evident in the plinth. A leafy roof terrace with views of the Frankfurt skyline has been created at a height of around 23 metres above the trapezoidal, projecting part of the building.
The façade solution ensures significant reduction of CO2 footprint.
A special construction based on WICONA's WICLINE EL evo SK façade system was used for the façade – 95% of which is made of Hydro CIRCAL end-of-life aluminium. This material was previously used in an aluminium product and therefore requires just 5% of the energy of primary aluminium during production. This is clearly reflected in the ecological footprint. With the Hydro CIRCAL façade, 2,600 tonnes of CO2 could be saved, which corresponds to approximately 10,000 flights from Frankfurt to Barcelona. A significant contribution to sustainable construction.
