Hauptwache 1 Frankfurt am Main, SIGNA Real Estate, HW 1 Building, Germany Development Images
Hauptwache 1 Frankfurt am Main
22 April 2022
HW 1 Competition win in Frankfurt!
Design: caspar.
Location: Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany
Images by Signa Real Estate/caspar./bloomimages
Hauptwache 1 Frankfurt am Main Design by caspar.
Integration is the word that best describes all the goals and functions of the new “HW 1.” On a number of levels, our design stands for synergistic and innovative integration, association, and connection. Where there are connections, there is identity; where there is identity, there is social sustainability. “HW1 is an excellent example of how the very struggle with urban planning guidelines can create the architectural identity itself,” says architect Caspar Schmitz-Morkramer.
The “twist” is the building’s subtle but remarkable characteristic feature…
For SIGNA Real Estate, caspar. is planning a new, multiuse commercial building with a total area of around 10,100 m2 and a distinctive facade design, situated at one of the city’s most well-known locations between the banking district and city center. Following its completion at the end of 2024, it will provide 7,300 m2 of rental space for offices, 2,300 m2 for retail trade and restaurants, and 500 m2 for roof gardens.
The office spaces between the 1st and 5th floor allow the creation of high-quality working environments featuring, among other things, large-format windows, flexible floor plans, and a landscaped roof terrace with a unique view of the skyline. New Work reflects the transformation of the workplace from static workstations that are used the same way every day to individual, flexibly usable, digital offices that can be reserved on demand.
New Work connects life and work and promotes social interaction. Individual retail concepts and a food area are planned for the first floor as a way of further revitalizing the neighboring Friedrich-Stoltze-Platz. The second basement level accommodates an underground parking garage with room for 20 vehicles and 140 bicycles. As a contribution to the mobility transformation, a bicycle elevator improves access to parking. Hauptwache is also located at one of the city’s largest public transportation hubs.
From an urban planning perspective, our design completes the block perimeter while reacting to its special situation adjacent to St. Catherine’s Church. “To comply with the different eaves heights, we came up with the idea of a slightly skewed structure. Its gentle twist creates a kind of portal situation in dialog with St. Catherine’s church standing opposite. The ‘twist’ is the building’s subtle but remarkable characteristic feature that also symbolizes the idea of integrating differences – a concept that is of such programmatic importance to the future of city centers,” explains Schmitz-Morkramer. The plan encompasses a building cubature that relates to its surroundings through rounded corners.
The facades, comprised of terrazzo and triple-glazed windows extending to the ground, establish an interplay between a light-colored matrix and colored aggregates, resulting in a vivid surface appearance. The roof functions as a fifth facade where roof terraces and lush greenery provide a special place for lingering and relaxing that includes an impressive panoramic view over the roofs of the city. Besides improving the city’s climate and rainwater storage, these gardens support biodiversity. In the future, the in-house power supply will be optimized by means of photovoltaic elements on the roof surfaces. We are aiming for LEED Platinum certification. Detailed documentation on the further development of HW1 will follow.
New Work connects life and work and promotes social interaction.
caspar. is a globally active architectural firm based in Cologne and Hamburg, Germany. An offshoot of the office of meyerschmitz-morkramer founded in 2004, the company headed by Caspar Schmitz-Morkramer and Christoph Wolf has over 100 employees. It garnered international attention through its multiple award-winning conversion and refurbishment of the Michaelsberg Abbey in Siegburg, Germany.
All of the firm’s projects are inspired by the human scale. This is the guiding principle behind our work, which is defined by a hybrid, dialog-based mindset and which perceives all designs as both strategies for the future and a transformation of the real estate industry. We’re assisted by the interdisciplinary think tank caspar.esearch, which records and analyzes correlations between social and architectural urban-planning developments and derives future-ready approaches and methods from this information. In 2019, the team published the lab report “retail in transition,” which discusses the rapid disruptions in retail trade and their consequences for city centers, as well as outlining new perspectives for a living city.
Throughout all work phases, caspar. develops and implements solutions for new buildings and ideas for repurposing existing buildings as well as interior design concepts. The firm’s current projects range from urban planning, residential buildings, and offices, to retail trade and cultural buildings.
Hauptwache 1 Frankfurt am Main – Building Information
Project: Hauptwache 1
Location: Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Type: Construction of a new, mixed-use building
Client: Signa Holding GmbH
GFA: 12,300 m2
Competition: 1st prize
Images: Signa Real Estate/caspar./bloomimages
Copyright Renderings: caspar / bloomimages
caspar.schmitzmorkramer gmbh
Steckelhörn 11
20457 Hamburg
www.caspar.archi
Hauptwache 1 Frankfurt am Main building images / information received 210422
Location: Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany, western Europe
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