Commerzbank Tower

Commerzbank Tower, standing at 259m tall – or 300m to the very tip – is the tallest building in Germany, and was once the tallest in Europe.

When it opened in 1997, Commerzbank Tower was the world’s first ecological office tower and an exploration into the nature of the office environment. The project developed new ideas for working patterns, relying on natural systems of ventilation and lighting that are enhanced by winter gardens situated throughout the building.

Brand: Gartner

Architect: Foster + Partners

Contractor: HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft

Client and project management: NERVUS Gerneralübernehmer GmbH

Owner: Immobilien-Vermietungs-gesellschaft Alpha/Beta, Dr. Gubelt-Objekt Hauptverwaltung

The project

The concept

The triangular structure comprises three ‘petals’, plus a ‘stem’ formed by the full-height central atrium. Large sky gardens spiral around the building, changing sides every fourth level. From the outside, they give the building a sense of lightness and transparency. They also create focal points for groups of offices, offering places to relax or meet colleagues and bringing fresh air and light into the atrium, which provides natural ventilation for the inner offices.

What did we do?

Commerzbank Tower was Gartner’s first building with a double-skin façade. The naturally ventilated external skin includes innovative radar damping glazing and openings that prevent rainwater from coming in, but allow air from the outside to enter the façade corridor. The internal skin has double-glazed, power-operated openable side-bottom hung windows. Sun protection is situated within the façade corridor, with mineral insulation for the opaque spandrel areas of the internal skin, and white enamelled glass for the external skin.

Key facts

Year completed

1997

Building height

259m; 56 storeys

Area

120,736 sqm