Deutsche Bank Areal Proposal 

The competition opened the rare opportunity for Snøhetta to form a public place and to design four new high-rise buildings including both office space and residential area.

The Deutsche Bank area is an inner-city district in Frankfurt that has been closed to the public and has therefore been non-existent in the consciousness of the urban population. With the opening of this quarter, a new place for the city is being built. 

As for the building complex, the central question of urban development is the extent to which this complex is perceived as an independent ensemble or as an integral part of the skyline. The design concept results from the goal of developing both at the same time - an ambivalent expression from a coherent ensemble on the one hand, and from a heterogeneous, integrative piece of city on the other hand.

This project enables to cultivate and point out the theme of the gap between four high-rise buildings. The central square represents the heart of the complex. It becomes a very special expression of the ensemble and cannot only be used as commercial area, but also creates a public space for the citizens and their needs enabling, for example, public yoga sessions or concerts. Thus, the place interacts with its visitors, which is expressed in the materiality and surface of the central square.