PROJECT DETAILS
Forward-thinking sustainable architecture The Senckenberg Tower, an office building with a WICONA façade made from recycled end-of-life aluminium
The new Senckenberg Quarter stretches between the Bockenheim and Westend districts in Frankfurt Westend. A significant feature of the huge area is the 106-metre high Senckenberg Tower. The office building, designed by cyrus moser architekten BDA (Frankfurt), showcases the highest international quality standards in high-rise construction combined with consistently sustainable and future-oriented construction, not least due to its innovative WICONA element façade made from Hydro CIRCAL recycled end-of-life aluminium.
Harmonious integration into the urban context
The Senckenberg Quarter marks the southern end of Frankfurt's new Kulturcampus Quarter on the former site of the AfE Tower at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. At the same time, it serves as an urban hinge between the neighbouring districts. In 2016, the Frankfurt office of cyrus moser architekten won an international competition and was commissioned with producing a concept for the new development. The idea behind the new quarter was to create a combination of striking cubature and simple elegance in conjunction with high urban development quality. The planned building ensemble should be open to the neighbourhood and therefore integrate seamlessly into the existing inner-city network. Managing Director, Oliver Cyrus explains: "By picking up on the existing walking routes through the neighbouring districts, we hoped to create an identity-forming centre that would serve as a point of orientation within the quarter. From this centre, all buildings are accessed by means of representative main entrances. At the same time, public space has been created where people can meet and enjoy being together. In this way, the Senckenberg Quarter is able to harmoniously bring together four essential buildings: The hybrid high-rise ONE FORTY WEST, the Senckenberg Tower, the solitary office building 21West Office and a modern child day care centre.
Senckenberg Tower: Architectural concept and façade design
The Senckenberg Tower is one of the two tallest points of the four-part ensemble. With its trapezoidal ground plan, the striking tower provides the neighbouring ONE FORTY WEST with the maximum amount of space despite its narrowness while simultaneously unleashing its own identity and impact on the urban space. Across 26 floors, the slim office tower offers the perfect environment for future-oriented work, concentrated teamwork and individual free spaces, tailored precisely to the needs of innovative companies. Up to 1,200 employees will find work there in the future. The façade architecture designed by cyrus moser is a real eye-catcher. The reduced silhouette of the tower is visually divided by two seams. These deliberate incisions provide a clear distinction between the plinth, shaft and crown. Several storeys are combined into units that vary in rhythm. This principle of layered volume makes it possible to respond to the particular features of the individual floors and is particularly evident in the plinth. A leafy roof terrace with views of the Frankfurt skyline has been created at a height of around 23 metres above the trapezoidal, projecting part of the building. Oliver Cyrus explains: “The green space on the roof allows for improved air quality, lower temperatures, better acoustics and a higher quality of stay." Another highlight is the spacious entrance hall. Extending over two floors, it radiates transparency and openness because it is fully glazed. A dining area is also planned for the ground floor.
The façade solution ensures significant reduction of CO2 footprint.
The desire to create the modern office tower in the most resource and environmentally friendly way possible came from the client, BNP Paribas Real Estate. As an international operator, this company attaches great importance to sustainability. For example, 95% of the façade of the Senckenberg Tower was created using element façades from WICONA, which are manufactured out of Hydro CIRCAL end-of-life aluminium, a material previously used in an aluminium product and therefore requiring just 5% of the energy of primary aluminium during production. This is clearly reflected in the ecological footprint, as Oliver Cyrus explains: "With the Hydro CIRCAL façade, we were able to save 2,600 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of approximately 10,000 flights from Frankfurt to Barcelona. A significant contribution to sustainable construction."
Element façade solution that meets requirements
The sustainable building envelope of the Senckenberg Tower was developed jointly by façade construction specialist Rupert App and WICONA. A special construction was used based on the WICLINE EL evo SK façade system and customized to the aesthetic and structural requirements of the office tower. The main façade was redeveloped with glazing projecting outwards together with recessed and fully integrated ventilation flaps. On the top floors, where the building services are located, the elements were created with vertical sun protection slats. On the other floors, modified elements were used, some of which are reinforced with steel on the inside. WICONA Project Manager, Thomas Staiger, explains: "The façade elements meet the high requirements for design and sound insulation and have very good thermal insulation properties. The façade solution has been perfectly tailored to suit the customer's requirements in terms of machining, manufacturing and installation. "In addition, in the tests carried out by ift Rosenheim, the design was convincing both in terms of resistance to wind loads and impermeability to driving rain. Another advantage: WICLINE EL evo SK allows for particularly narrow sight lines of the profiles, even with the extreme building movements that occur with high-rise buildings.
Economical production in the factory
To keep to the tight façade production schedule, the metal construction specialists at Rupert App designed a production sequence specifically adapted to the project. Individual components, such as glass and panel elements, were manufactured on different production lines and only subsequently assembled into a complete element. Managing Director, Magnus App, explains: "Thanks to the flexibility of the WICONA system, we were able to design the production process very economically. This meant we were able to produce the complete façade in consistently high quality and deliver it to the construction site on time."
A total of 13,000 square metres of façade with more than 2,700 elements were manufactured and installed over the course of the project. Upon its completion, the Senckenberg Tower became one of the tallest buildings in Germany built with sustainable aluminium.
