Opernturm: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:47, 8 April 2012

Revision as of 15:49, 8 April 2012

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== Design ==

The OpernTurmOpernturm consists of a 170-m high-rise building (42 floors) and an approximately 26-m low-rise podium building (7 floors) facing towards the Alte Oper. Access is through an 18 meter high lobby. The yellow-beige stone cladding of the facades was designed to fit in with the existing buildings surrounding Opernplatz. Designed to consume 23 percent less energy than stipulated by Germany's 2007 EnEV Energy Regulation, the OpernTurmOpernturm was one of the first office buildings in Europe to be certified to the LEED Gold standard ([[Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design]]).

The site was previously occupied by one of Frankfurt's first high-rise buildings, the 68 m tall Zürich Tower (''Zürich-Haus'') built in 1962. In 1998, Zürich Versicherung, the owner of the building, commissioned Christoph Mäckler's firm to design a new building that would be 22 m taller in order to maximize land use. When the initially proposed building was felt to be rather bulky, Zürich Versicherung suggested to the local government to build the new tower up to a height of 160 m and to compensate for the added height by making available company-owned land to extend the adjacent Rothschildpark down to Bockenheimer Landstrasse. The local government eventually agreed but Zürich Versicherung did not go ahead with the development and sold the now empty site -- the old tower had been demolished in 2002 -- to project developer Tishman Speyer in July 2004.

Civil engineering works started in late 2006 with the removal of the former underground garage of the Zürich Tower. The groundbreaking for the development of OpernTurmOpernturm took place on 22 January 2007.

The completion of OpernTurmOpernturm in late 2009 added another landmark to the city's much photographed skyline, with its elegant silhouette and the natural stone façade setting it apart from the glass towers dominating the cityscape. The adjoining Rothschildpark has been extended by 5,500 square metres and redesigned in the style of an English garden.

== Tenants ==