Commerzbank Tower

Commerzbank Tower
Commerzbank Tower, Frankfurt am Main
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Office
Location	Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany
Coordinates	50°06′38″N 8°40′27″E
Construction started	1994
Opening	1997
Cost	600,000,000 DM
Height
Antenna spire	300 m (984 ft)
Roof	259 m (850 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	56
Floor area	109,200 m2 (1,175,400 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect	Norman Foster

Commerzbank Tower, located in the city centre of Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany, is the second-tallest completed skyscraper in the European Union. After it was completed in 1997 it ranked as the tallest skyscraper in Europe until 2005 when it was surpassed by the Triumph-Palace in Moscow. It was surpassed by the Shard London Bridge in London, United Kingdom in December 2011, and will be 8.5 metres (28 ft) shorter by the time the latter tower is finished in 2012.

The tower is only two metres taller than the MesseTurm which is also located in Frankfurt. The MesseTurm was the tallest building in Europe before the construction of the Commerzbank Tower.

With a height of 259 metres (850 ft), 56 stories, it provides 121,000 m² (1.3 million square feet) of office space for the Commerzbank headquarters, including winter gardens and natural lighting and air circulation. The signal light on top of the tower gives the tower a total height of 300.1 metres (985 ft).

In its immediate neighbourhood are other high-rise buildings including the Eurotower (home of the European Central Bank), the Maintower, the Silver Tower, the Japan Center and the Gallileo skyscraper. The area is commonly known as Bankenviertel (banking district or financial district).

It was designed by Foster & Partners, with Arup and Krebs & Kiefer (structural engineering), J. Roger Preston with P&A Petterson Ahrens (mechanical engineering), Schad & Hölzel (electrical engineering). Construction of the building began in 1994 and took three years to complete.

The building is illuminated at night by a yellow light scheme which was designed by Thomas Ende who was allowed to display this sequence as a result of a competition.

Features

When the building was planned in the early 1990s Frankfurt's Green Party, who governed the city together with the Social Democratic Party, encouraged the Commerzbank to design a 'green' skyscraper. The result was the world's first so-called ecological skyscraper: besides the use of 'sky-gardens', environmentally friendly technologies were employed to reduce energy required for heating and cooling.

Sky gardens

Garden on the 19th floor of the Commerzbank Tower

The Commerzbank Tower is shaped as a 60 metres (197 ft) wide rounded equilateral triangle with a central, triangular atrium. At nine different levels, the atrium opens up to one of the three sides, forming large sky gardens. These open areas allow more natural light in the building, reducing the need for artificial lighting. At the same time it ensures offices in the building's two other sides have a view of either the city or the garden.

In order to eliminate the need of supporting columns in the sky gardens, the building was constructed in steel instead of the conventional (and cheaper) concrete. It was the first skyscraper in Germany where steel was used as the main construction material.

In popular culture

• Commerzbank Tower appears in the Euro Contemporary tileset in SimCity 4 (Deluxe or with Rush Hour).
• In 2007, Wrebbit released a 3D puzzle from the Towers Made To Scale Collection, which includes the Commerzbank Tower and the Messeturm in one box-set.

• 

  The Commerzbank Tower at night

• 

  Commerzbank Tower & Maintower at night

• 

  Commerzbank Tower

• 

  Commerzbank Tower from the top of the Main Tower

• 

  From over the river

• 

  Commerzbank Tower from street level

References

• "Commerzbank Tower". A View On Cities. http://www.aviewoncities.com/frankfurt/commerzbanktower.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-06. 

See also

• List of skyscrapers
• List of tallest buildings in the European Union
• History of Germany
• List of tallest buildings in Frankfurt

External links

• Emporis entry
• SkyscraperPage entry
• Archiseek
• CTBUH.org Featured Building
• Commerzbank Tower at Structurae

Records
Preceded by Messeturm	Tallest Building in Europe 1997—2005 259 m	Succeeded by Triumph Palace
Preceded by Messeturm	Tallest Building in the European Union 1997—2011 259 m	Succeeded by Shard London Bridge
Preceded by Messeturm	Tallest Building in Germany 1997—Present 259 m	Succeeded by None
Preceded by Messeturm	Tallest Building in Frankfurt 1997—Present 259 m	Succeeded by None