Commerzbank Tower Frankfurt
Commerzbank’s Head Office on Frankfurt’s Kaiserplatz is a prominent architectural landmark in the city on the River Main.
01/02/2023
Facts & figures
Commerzbank's Head Office on Kaiserplatz is the stand-out architectural landmark of the German financial capital of Frankfurt. This extraordinary building, designed by Sir Norman Foster, has been a feature of Frankfurt's skyline since 1997 and is considered an outstanding example of environmentally-friendly and energy-saving architecture.
Conception
Visitors enter the 259-metre high tower from Kaiserplatz via a stairway covered by a glass roof. On the first floor, they are greeted by a spacious plaza with a restaurant. Above the lobby, which adjoins the plaza and was redesigned in 2023, a well-lit central atrium rises through all the floors, creating a bright and pleasant atmosphere. The nine sky gardens, the building’s ‘green lungs’, can be used by employees as meeting and break areas.
New Work
Mobile working means adapting classic room concepts. An innovative and forward-looking workplace concept called New Work has been implemented. It encourages agile working methods and is tailored to employees’ needs and requirements. All floors have been fitted with new room modules such as think tanks, team offices and lounge areas. The workstations have been furnished with ergonomic office chairs and height-adjustable desks as well as flexible technical equipment. In addition to the open, flexible seating concept, all of these features offer plenty of opportunities for employees to find the right place to focus, collaborate and communicate.
Architecture
The ground plan is the shape of an isosceles triangle with rounded corners and slightly convex sides. This allows for the floors of the building and the shafts at the three corners to be arranged around the central atrium. The atrium, which is also triangular in shape, gives the tower an open and transparent feel. The building is enclosed within a two-layer façade. This permits natural ventilation and saves energy. The stepped top of the tower rounds off the building in a highly distinctive manner and creates a striking landmark for Frankfurt's banking district.
Sky gardens
The nine spacious sky gardens rise up the tower in spiral form, with three each facing either eastwards, southwards or westwards. Each geographical orientation has a different botanical theme, featuring Mediterranean, North American or Asian vegetation. The gardens provide the inner offices with plenty of daylight. They can be used by staff for meetings and breaks; they also create a feeling of openness and space and form part of the sophisticated system of natural ventilation. Through design elements, suitable colour concepts and sound effects, such as the chirping of Mediterranean crickets or birdsong, employees can immerse themselves in another world and be inspired.
Green Building
Architect and client worked together to create an innovative design for the Commerzbank Tower that is both environmentally- and climate-friendly. The natural ventilation and eco-friendly air conditioning make a lasting contribution to climate protection. The Tower has been powered entirely by green electricity since the beginning of 2008 and – like all Commerzbank buildings – it is cleaned exclusively with biodegradable cleaning products. In 2009, the Commerzbank Tower was given the “Green Building Frankfurt ” award by the City of Frankfurt.
Facts and figures
All key figures for the Commerzbank high-rise building at a glance
Gross floor area
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Tower
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85.503 m²
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Basements
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12.724 m²
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Car park
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9.579 m²
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Perimeter buildings (leased space)
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Kaiserstraße 18
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289 m²
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Offices
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489 m²
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First-aid station
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128 m²
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Plaza catering
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1.264 m²
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Height
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Excluding antenna
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259m
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With antenna
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300m
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Parking spaces
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Car-parking spaces
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300
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Bicycle-parking spaces
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ca. 200
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Electric charging stations for cars
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16
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Levels in the tower
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Entrance hall
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3 floors
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Offices
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45 floors
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Technical equipment
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14 floors
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Main usable area
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Work stations
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approx. 2.900
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Construction phase
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May 1994–May 1997
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Tower foundation
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Load-bearing piles
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111 large piles
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Ø 1,8 m/1,5 m
Length: max. 48,5 m |
Raft thickness
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2,20–4,50 m
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Shell and core
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Basements
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Reinforced concrete rigid frame
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Tower
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Steel frame with Vierendeel frame system
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