bjarke ingels group designs a mixed-use tower for frankfurt with twisted floorplates

set within frankfurt’s diverse urban fabric, bjarke ingels group has proposed a mixed-use tower that twists to accommodate each specific internal program. the building, which will be completed alongside bollinger + grohmann, contains a mix of two office types in addition to a range of residential and public settings.

organized as a slender and rational stack, the tower’s form is interrupted by two sculptural gestures, making visible the shift in program. at ground level the staggered storeys create green terraces and canopies oriented to face the adjacent park, before the floorplates start to slide outwards in a spiraling motion where the tower turns residential. in its uppermost portion, the structure returns to a simple tower block, rejoining the orientation of the floors below.

all images © bjarke ingels group / BIG

‘by gently shifting the floor plates of the simple elegant volume the tower incorporates all the elements of a real city: spaces for living and working, inside as well as outside,’ explains bjarke ingels, founding partner, BIG. ‘the result is a striking new silhouette on frankfurt’s skyline that looks different purely because it performs differently. the shift at the hip will be a sign that new life has infiltrated the cluster of corporate headquarters in downtown frankfurt.’

‘our proposal for the new metzler site embodies the unique character of frankfurt, a city that has a unusual mix of high-rises of a modern metropolis and traditional city blocks,’ continues BIG partner, andreas klok pedersen. ‘in that sense the metzler tower brings a small piece of the human scale city into the skyline.’

the tower’s form is interrupted by two sculptural gestures, making visible the internal shift in program

at ground level the staggered storeys create green terraces and canopies

the floorplates start to slide outwards in a spiraling motion where the tower turns residential

the building contains a mix of two office types in addition to a range of residential and public settings

the tower’s twisted middle illuminated at night

project info:

program: mixed-use
client: tishman speyer
architect: BIG – bjarke ingels group
total size: 65,000 sqm / 645,835 sqf
height: 185 m
location: frankfurt am mein, germany
status: concept design
collaborators: bollinger + grohmann

partner-in-charge: bjarke ingels, andreas klok petersen
project leader: lorenzo boddi
project team: enea michelesio, max aldunate reitour, gabrielė ubarevičiūtė, joanna jakubowska, katarzyna joanna piekarczyk, lucas carriere, emily king, julieta muzillo, giedrius mamavicius, lucian tofan, raphael ciriani