Stadtportalhäuser
Design Competition Frankfurt am Main, Germany This unrealized project was located at the intersection of a major boulevard in Frankfurt and the edge of a large international exposition center. The program included an office building and museum for the Bosch Corporation, two speculative office buildings, and a hotel. The design was influenced both by the need to maintain an open park space and by the presence of an existing railroad bridge, road system, and exposition structures. Continue BackThe design produced a compelling plan graphic and massing collage of varying scales and multiple images. The silhouettes viewed from a distance and the memories elicited by the architecture as a whole were reinforced by the more immediate experiences at grade and the complexities of land and building intersections.
Essential to the project’s composition and image were the two similar wedge-shaped office buildings whose facades defined the gate and the dissimilar masses that extended from these facades to either side of the boulevard.
As the first European competition for our office, the scale and complexity of the architectural and urban resolutions represent a learning and research experience. The issues and strategies explored are an excellent resource for future investigations.
