UNStudio Wins Competition for Former Deutsche Bank Site in Frankfurt

UNStudio's winning design is marked by four high-rise towers that rise in a clockwise manner up to the 59-story, 228-meter tower. Two towers would contain office space and two towers would provide 600 new apartments, both above the mixed-use base that is selectively opened to provide connecting routes, passages and squares within the site. 

Per a statement from UNStudio, "The four high-rise towers and public spaces on the Deutsche Bank site will form a new urban quarter. ... With its special location within the skyline and its adjacency to the shopping and pedestrian zones of the city center, the project has the potential to create an area of cosmopolitan urbanism that is unique in Germany."

Further, Ben van Berkel said in the statement: "Bringing a mixed-use project into this financial district will not only enliven the area during daytime, but it will also introduce evening programs and create an essential form of social sustainability to this part of the city. The introduction of the residential and the leisure components are key to this strategy. This sculptural family of towers will also create the suggestion of a cohesive neighborhood within the skyline and emphasise the importance of this part of the city within the whole."

Groß & Partner Grundstücksentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, the owners of the site, organized the competition for the urban redevelopment of the area in November 2015. UNStudio’s winning proposal will form the basis for the amendment of the city's development plan, though the tallest tower is currently alloted for within that plan. Following the announcement, the proposals of participating architects in the competition will be displayed in May, alongside "a presentation of the concept for the district and the announcement of the future name for the site."

Construction of the project is expected to start "in the course of the coming year," with the first building expected to be completed in 2020.