111 Amphitryon, Two Office Buildings for the Bayerische Hypotheken- und Vereinsbank

The building site Junghofstrasse/Neue Rothofstrasse is located in an area characterized by six-story peripheral block developments. A clear neighbourhood structure can also be discerned that should be strengthened in any future development.

The project is an homage to this peripheral block development, although in a contemporary interpretation. As opposed to typical peripheral block developments, the public urban space, i.e. street, piazza, courtyard, etc. will not be divided off into a rigorous building alignment but integrated into the new building. The new building offers transitional space. The passerby walks through an attractive spatial succession, past the large bank tellers’ hall, past stores, and green spaces composed of fine plant layers and water surfaces. The inner public space of the new building on Junghofstrasse is a lively lived-in space organized on the model of an urban neighbourhood.

The higher 17-floor project variant brings an additional urban architectural quality into play. The peripheral block development specific to the neighbourhood can be combined with the idea of a highrise setting the tone more and more clearly slightly to the west. Unlike traditional highrises that present a monumental image as freestanding single objects in the urban outdoor space, this project proposes the concentration of the urban outdoor space between the high and low parts of the building to an experientially rich and spatially exciting place.

Thus, in this project, we are not describing a tower, but rather a high building with great density. This high building will be occupied by various firms with varying and changing area needs. This variety in renters and their identities can be read and recognized outside on the building’s facade. On the outer skin, the collective lobby, stretching over several floors, is read as one cohesive glass surface with specific lettering, colouring, and lighting design. These mosaic-like sky lobbies, placed on every side of the building, are simultaneously a significant trademark for the new building on Junghofstrase, Frankfurt.

Herzog & de Meuron, 1996