Taunusturm
Encyclopedia
Taunusturm is the project name for a complex of two buildings, a 170-metres skyscraper
and a 60-metres high-rise residential building, currently under construction in Frankfurt
, Germany
. The construction site is located in Frankfurt's financial district, the Bankenviertel, at the corner of Neue Mainzer Straße and Taunustor. The site borders a park named Taunusanlage, which gave the tower its name (the Taunus
is a low mountain range north of Frankfurt). The buildings were designed by architecture firm Gruber + Kleine-Kraneburg. The project developer is real estate building and operating company Tishman Speyer which also built the Messeturm
and the Opernturm
in Frankfurt. The start of construction was in April 2011 and the complex is expected to be finished by December 2013.
and Rheinhyp at Taunustor, right at the heart of Frankfurt's financial district. The development plan envisioned a 135-metres high-rise building for the property, named Kaiserkarree. In 2000 architecture firm Gruber + Kleine-Kraneburg won an architecture competition for the planned tower, but the project slowed down after the Dot-com bubble
burst in 2000 and the September 11 attacks in 2001. Meanwhile the Rheinhyp became part of real estate bank Eurohypo
and moved to Eschborn
, therefore Commerzbank took over responsibility for the property.
In 2007 Commerzbank announced that it wanted to sell the property because there was no need to use it for own purposes. At the end of the same year Tishman Speyer and Commerz Real bought the property and said that they would build the tower unchanged from the previous design. It was agreed upon with the City of Frankfurt that a part of the tower would be used for apartments. The demolition of the existing buildings on the property was schedulded to start in spring 2008 but was delayed because Tishman Speyer surprisingly announced that the plans for the tower had changed: Instead of one broad tower they changed the design to two towers, one 160-metres high and one 60-metres high, and therefore a clear parting between office use and residentital use.
Tishman Speyer submitted a building application in 2010 and started the demolition process but shortly after the demolition was once again stopped because the main tenant for the office tower (rumoured to be Clifford Chance
) cancelled the contract negotiations. Tishman Speyer then announced that the towers, now called Taunusturm, would not be built in the near future.
In January 2011 demolition works continued and Tishman Speyer officially presented the final design for the towers, again from Gruber + Kleine-Kraneburg: 170-metres and 60-metres high. Although there is no new main tenant the towers will be built. The construction of the towers began in April 2011 and is expected to be finished by late 2013.
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
and a 60-metres high-rise residential building, currently under construction in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The construction site is located in Frankfurt's financial district, the Bankenviertel, at the corner of Neue Mainzer Straße and Taunustor. The site borders a park named Taunusanlage, which gave the tower its name (the Taunus
Taunus
The Taunus is a low mountain range in Hesse, Germany that composes part of the Rhenish Slate Mountains. It is bounded by the river valleys of Rhine, Main and Lahn. On the opposite side of the Rhine, the mountains are continued by the Hunsrück...
is a low mountain range north of Frankfurt). The buildings were designed by architecture firm Gruber + Kleine-Kraneburg. The project developer is real estate building and operating company Tishman Speyer which also built the Messeturm
Messeturm
The Messeturm is a skyscraper in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Its name translates as "Fair Tower" in German. It is the second tallest building in Frankfurt, the second tallest building in Germany. The Messeturm's ground floor area is just . The Messeturm is directly located in the Frankfurt Trade...
and the Opernturm
Opernturm
The OpernTurm is a skyscraper in Frankfurt, Germany. The property is situated opposite Alte Oper on the corner of Bockenheimer Landstrasse and Bockenheimer Anlage. The building was designed by Christoph Mäckler. The project developer was Tishman Speyer, a US firm that previously built the Sony...
in Frankfurt. The start of construction was in April 2011 and the complex is expected to be finished by December 2013.
History
In 1998 the City of Frankfurt approved a new high-rise development plan which specifies where new skyscrapers are allowed to be built in the city. One of the approved locations was the estate owned by CommerzbankCommerzbank
Commerzbank AG is the second-largest bank in Germany, after Deutsche Bank, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main.-Activities:Commerzbank is mainly active in commercial bank, retail banking and mortgaging. It suffered reversals in investment banking in early 2000s and scaled back its Securities unit...
and Rheinhyp at Taunustor, right at the heart of Frankfurt's financial district. The development plan envisioned a 135-metres high-rise building for the property, named Kaiserkarree. In 2000 architecture firm Gruber + Kleine-Kraneburg won an architecture competition for the planned tower, but the project slowed down after the Dot-com bubble
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
burst in 2000 and the September 11 attacks in 2001. Meanwhile the Rheinhyp became part of real estate bank Eurohypo
EuroHypo
Eurohypo is a European real estate bank and based in Eschborn, Frankfurt. Eurohypo is 100% owned by Commerzbank. It is the eleventh-largest bank in Germany with a balance sheet of € 214.2 billion in 2007....
and moved to Eschborn
Eschborn
Eschborn is a town near Frankfurt am Main in the Main-Taunus district, Hesse, Germany. As of 2009, it had a population of 20,789, but boasts fulltime employment of over 30,000 people...
, therefore Commerzbank took over responsibility for the property.
In 2007 Commerzbank announced that it wanted to sell the property because there was no need to use it for own purposes. At the end of the same year Tishman Speyer and Commerz Real bought the property and said that they would build the tower unchanged from the previous design. It was agreed upon with the City of Frankfurt that a part of the tower would be used for apartments. The demolition of the existing buildings on the property was schedulded to start in spring 2008 but was delayed because Tishman Speyer surprisingly announced that the plans for the tower had changed: Instead of one broad tower they changed the design to two towers, one 160-metres high and one 60-metres high, and therefore a clear parting between office use and residentital use.
Tishman Speyer submitted a building application in 2010 and started the demolition process but shortly after the demolition was once again stopped because the main tenant for the office tower (rumoured to be Clifford Chance
Clifford Chance
Clifford Chance LLP is a global law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom and a member of the 'Magic Circle' of leading UK law firms. It is one of the ten largest law firms in the world measured by both number of lawyers and revenue...
) cancelled the contract negotiations. Tishman Speyer then announced that the towers, now called Taunusturm, would not be built in the near future.
In January 2011 demolition works continued and Tishman Speyer officially presented the final design for the towers, again from Gruber + Kleine-Kraneburg: 170-metres and 60-metres high. Although there is no new main tenant the towers will be built. The construction of the towers began in April 2011 and is expected to be finished by late 2013.
See also
- List of tallest buildings in the European Union
- List of tallest buildings in Germany
- List of tallest buildings in Frankfurt