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Architecture for Grand Hyatt in Frankfurt's Europaviertel
Frankfurt, 19 May 2009 The Mövenpick Hotel was the first building to be constructed in Frankfurt's Europaviertel (European Quarter). Alongside residential buildings and office blocks, a second hotel, the Meininger Hotel, is currently being built. Six architecture firms today presented their designs for the architecture of the third hotel, the Grand Hyatt Hotel Frankfurt. It will be built opposite the high-rise office building Tower 185, which is currently under construction.
As part of a design competition, six architects today presented their ideas for the hotel tower, which will measure around 361 feet (110 metres). Under the chairmanship of Prof. Johann Eisele, the jury handed out awards to the firms UN Studio - Ben van Berkel (Amsterdam) and Kohn Pedersen Fox (New York) for their designs. The jury recommended the design by UN Studio for further development. The architecture firms Ingenhoven Architekten (Düsseldorf), JSK Architekten (Frankfurt am Main), Lederer, Ragnarsdottir, Oei (Stuttgart) and Reichel + Stauth Architekten (Braunschweig) also presented designs. As well as the chairman, the jury consisted of: Councillor Edwin Schwarz (City of Frankfurt), Bernhard H. Hansen (Vivico), Prof. Jochem Jourdan (Jourdan & Müller PAS), Prof. Uwe Frerichs (Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences), Anne Geiermann (Hyatt) and Matthias Lowin (Viador).
All work presented will be on display from 20 to 27 May 2009 in the foyer of the Technisches Rathaus (Technical Town Hall) in Frankfurt, which is located at 15 Braubachstrasse. Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The chairman of the jury Prof. Eisele stressed: "All of the work on display is of a very high standard. The designs by UN Studios and Kohn Pedersen Fox stand out in particular since they depict a type of high-rise building not yet in existence in this form in Frankfurt. The contribution of UN Studio in particular shows how high demands in terms of practicality can be brought into harmony with high standards in terms of internal and external design."
For Councillor Schwarz, the designs fit into the new district extremely well from an urban planning perspective: "This extraordinary high-rise building will be visible from afar and will add to the outstanding quality of this location at the entrance to the Europaviertel."
Bernhard H. Hansen added: "A unique architectural voice has been found here, which pays homage to the high standards of Grand Hyatt and, at the same time, fits into the neighbourhood outstandingly well."
The new Grand Hyatt will, as part of the Skyline Plaza ensemble, shape the entrance to Europa-Allee and will extend along Osloer Strasse in a north-south direction. As a 5-star plus hotel, it will have 405 rooms and suites, including an elegant ballroom, a luxury spa area and various gastronomic offerings. These will be rounded off by a lobby bar and a public Sky Lounge on the top floor.
Including those in the new hotel tower, around 1,000 beds in various categories will in future be available close to the city centre in the Europaviertel. The Europaviertel is growing rapidly: the first residential building will be completed in the spring of 2009, two more will follow in the year 2010. Around 780 homes are planned in total in the first phase. The bank BNP Paribas will move its German headquarters into the first office building in the middle of 2010; construction began in the autumn of 2008. The four-star Hotel Mövenpick Frankfurt City has been in operation since 2006. Vivico concluded a rental contract with the Berlin hotel group Meininger in February 2008. The new hotel by the Torhaus entrance to the trade fair centre is also under construction and will be opened in 2010.
Vivico began building the first high-rise building in this location, Tower 185, at the entrance to the Europaviertel on Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage in September 2008. Even before construction began, Vivico had already concluded a contract with the auditing company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for around 646,000 ft² (60,000 m²) of rented space.
The shopping and congress centre Skyline Plaza, which is a joint venture between ECE and Vivico, is in the planning phase after the signing of an urban planning agreement.