THE LIVING CITY
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DOMRÖMER: REBUILDING THE OLD CENTRE EUROPAVIERTEL: FIRST PORSCHE DESIGN TOWER EASTSIDE: MOST SUCCESSFUL MILE IN GERMANY
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‘MIDDLE INCOME EARNERS MUST NOT BE PRICED OUT OF FRANKFURT’ FRANKFURT IS MORE POPULAR THAN EVER, BUT THE CITY NEEDS TO REMAIN AFFORDABLE FOR PEOPLE ON MIDDLE INCOMES, SAYS LORD MAYOR PETER FELDMANN.
To me Integrated Urban Development means that the themes of the future that concern us at the moment with are dealt with not within each sector, but in a multidisciplinary way. In 2007 the federal German government, together with its partners in the EU, How do you see Frankfurt in 2030? adopted the Leipzig Charta for sustainaIn 15 years’ time Frankfurt will still be ble European cities. At its core is the aim a thriving city, with an attractive cenof improving disadvantaged districts as tre and attractive districts. In Frankfurt well. That is absolutely right. North the first students will attend the As to the priorities: We must create more new Pfingstberg School and new shopaffordable housing. At the same time we ping and leisure opportunities will be must develop strategies that allow us to available to residents of Nieder Erlenopen up more prospects for the economy. bach and Nieder-Eschbach. Professionals From my point of view we should identify from around the country and abroad will in the Integrated Draft Urban Developvisit the new Pfingstberg area to view for ment Plan ways of combining work and themselves the advantages of a comaccommodation. Where to create areas pact, environmentally friendly district. that are exclusively designated for work, for example because it is too noisy for At the moment the Integrated Draft residential use. The other themes – traffic, school, open Urban Development Plan is under spaces, should not be forgotten either. discussion. At its centre is the conflict The quality of the Integrated Draft between spaces – for transport, accomUrban Development Plan will be judged modation, commercial units, schools, by whether we can find appropriate open spaces, quality of life. How do you solutions. Ultimately the point is to define integrated urban developement? improve quality of life in the districts Where do your priorities lie?
Peter Feldmann, Frankfurt’s Lord Mayor and the city as a whole. Enacting the Integrated Draft Urban Development Plan will not be an easy task. But if we want to develop our city according to the example of European cities – compact, vibrant, green, socially mixed – there is no way around this draft proposal. When it comes to the implementation stage, from my perspective it depends on having intensive discussions with the local population about the individual projects that come out of the Integrated III
Draft Urban Development Plan. That is the coming years too. Take Offenbach, the only way we can successfully implefor example, where the harbour or former ment the projects in an “integrated” way. industrial areas are being developed. One thing is clear: the demand for Frankfurt is close to maximum capacity in housing in Frankfurt can only be met areas such as housebuilding. Yet from a with the support of the region. That also regional point of view there is no shortmeans, however, that we need to carry age of space. Don’t your colleagues in on building accommodation in Frankfurt. the surrounding municipalities need to do That is why I have been pressing for the more? Why is so little being built there? construction of Pfingstberg for almost New-build housing is a regional responsi- two years now. bility. I have set up the Residential Round Table together with a number of munici- The reorganisation of Rosa Luxemburg palities in the region and the Rhine-Main Strasse will create a lot more residential Regional Authority. When we build new space. Yet the SPD is against the residential areas in the region it must be development because of fears about co-ordinated on the basis of an integrat- the consequences for tenants in the ed plan. Large numbers of homes will be surrounding neighbourhoods. Isn’t that built in the surrounding municipalities in political patronage?
The redevelopment of Rosa Luxemburg Strasse has the potential to create new residential space. However, it is also associated with a wide-ranging intervention within the city structure. Even if we were in a position to start work tomorrow, it could still take years until the residential areas are ready. The key points are: demolish Hochstrasse, demolish a motorway junction, build a new road at ground level, etc. It will take the engineers a few years to untangle all the knots. A general overview allows us to plan better where we can build new housing quickly. It’s not just about political patronage, it’s a question of how we use the capacity we have in the most appropriate way. O
‘MASTER PLAN MUST MAKE ROOM FOR INDUSTRY’ FRANKFURT’S MASTER PLAN MUST MAKE SPACE FOR MANUFACTURING IN A CITY WHERE OTHER SECTORS, NOTABLY HOUSING, ARE SHOUTING FOR ATTENTION, SAYS MARKUS FRANK, DEPUTY MAYOR OF FRANKFURT. What is the main idea behind the city of Frankfurt’s Master Plan for Industry? The Master Plan for Industry aims to be a long-term strategy for the industrial region of Frankfurt/ Main. The central idea is the ongoing security and continued development of industry as an economic factor in the context of the city’s overall development. The Master Plan for Industry will take into account the political and social value of productive businesses, reflecting the multi-faceted and wide-ranging significance. Industry is of great importance to Frankfurt am Main: workplaces, income, investments, innovation, internationalisation etc.
Markus Frank, Deputy Mayor of Frankfurt
cial spaces, with more than 40 industrial areas and sites spread across many districts in the north, south, east and west and in the city centre area of Frankfurt too. There isn’t an increasing availability of sites that could be used commercially, as disused, unused or underused sites, or potential sites, are difficult to activate and not suitable for the requirements of industrial businesses. There are various reasons for this, such as ownership strucWhere are the greatest shortages in tures, quality of sites (connections, infraterms of supply of industrial sites? structure, facilities), the size and layout of Frankfurt has a large quantity of commer- the site, the location, existing or expectIV
ed disputes with neighbours and location-related costs. The City of Frankfurt also needs space for housing development. How do you avoid conflict with the industrial sector’s ambitions for growth? The options for avoiding conflicts over site use: give priority on industrial sites to users who are reliant on industrial sites. Communicate in good time with relevant parties (businesses, neighbours and the city). Build in appropriate distances between the different types of user. O
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Key data
Berlin Düsseldorf
Berlin 4.6 Düsseldorf 4.6 Frankfurt/M 4.7 Hamburg 4.5 Munich 4.3 Prime office 4.5
Frankfurt am Main
Munich Economy and demographics by comparison Single households 2014 (%)
Total population in 1000s, 2014 Demographic forecast in %, 2014–2030 Unemployment rate* in %, 2015 GDP 2014 in € million Total number of arrivals 2012 Total number of overnight stays 2012 INSM City ranking level (rank) 2014 Retail relevant purchasing power per capita in €, 2013 Retail relevant purchasing power, index 2013 Retail centrality, index 2013 Turnover-share of allover Germany in ‰, 2013
Household size 2014 (person/household) 2.0 2.0
Unemployment rate 06/2015 (%) 6.2 6.2
*all dependant civil employed persons. Sources: BulwienGesa, Bertelsmann Stiftung, Arbeitsagentur, OxfordEconomics, federal statistical offices, INSM/WiWo, MB Research
Unemployment growth 14–15 (%, forecast) 0.3 0.4
0.3
Prime rent development in €/m²/month*
GDP per capita 2015 (€1,000, forecast)
300
33.1 33.1 79.0
280 260
Purchase power index 2015 100.0 100.0 117.7 Source: JLL
718 4.8 6.9 55,357 4,285,000 7,071,000 504 (20) 6,967 110.10 113.60 10.61
*100m² ground floor shop, ideal location and layout, 5m frontage. Soorce: CBRE
6.9
5.3 9.9 0.8 5.4 4.9 9.6 3.3 7.8 8.7 13.0 4.9 9.4
Economic facts
41.0 41.0 54.2
1.8
Cash flow yield Capital Total (NIY) growth return 2014Q2–2015Q2 (YoY) 2015Q2
Source: JLL
Prime location
Hamburg
240 220 Index (Germany=100)
200 2009
Office market Frankfurt O Supply in 1,000 m² O Take-up in 1,000 m²
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
— Prime rent in €/m²/month 40 35
1,500
30 25 1,000
15 500
10 5
0
0 2005
VI
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
15Q2
Source: Cushman & Wakefield
20
ECONOMY TAKES LEAP FORWARD FRANKFURT’S ECONOMY IMPROVED NOTICEABLY IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2015. TAKE-UP IN THE OFFICE AND INDUSTRIAL SECTORS IS UP AND THE INVESTMENT MARKET IS BOOMING. A SURVEY OF COMPANIES BY THE CITY’S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY FOUND THAT THE IMPROVED ECONOMIC CLIMATE IS DUE TO COMPANIES PERFORMING BETTER INDIVIDUALLY AND RAISING THEIR EXPECTATIONS FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT, BASED ON STRONG DOMESTIC DEMAND.
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ompanies’ staffing plans indicate that employment figures will continue to increase over the course of the year. However, companies’ investment plans are more subdued. The main beneficiaries of the upswing are the manufacturing and retail sectors, as well as financial services, banking and insurance. In June 2015, the unemployment rate fell significantly to 6.7%, a fall of 0.6% compared to the previous year. Business sentiment among entrepreneurs continues to be very healthy in Germany’s number one banking and financial location. The city’s business climate index, as measured by the chamber of commerce, recently increased by three points to 131. Frankfurt’s population surpassed the 700,000 mark in 2014. This equates to an extra 13,000 residents year-onyear, a greater increase than in the preceding year, according to research by JLL. Latest forecasts by the City of Frankfurt predict that the population is likely to pass 800,000 by 2027. As before, population growth is driven primarily by inward migration and is spread unevenly across the urban area. The main concentration is in the large new-build districts in the city, such as Riedberg in the north (peripheral districts) and the Europa viertel (city centre I). These two
districts account for one-third of the total increase. The city is a magnet for domestic and international investors. According to CBRE, Frankfurt followed up 2014’s very good results by securing its leading position as Germany’s strongest real estate investment market in terms of take-up in the first half of 2015. In the first six months of the year the transaction volume increased to more than €2.9 bn, more than doubling year-onyear (+127%). This represents the best half-year result since 2007. Residential is strong The residential market has been especially strong: with around €450 mln invested in 1,700 apartments. The total transaction volume has already exceeded the total figure for 2014, says JLL. The main reason for this was the increase in sales of development projects, which accounted for almost 80% of the volume in the city on the River Main. The office market in Frankfurt has been stable during H1 2015. Around 177,000 m² of office space was let during the first six months (including owner-occupiers), of which 89,000m² was in Q2. The total take-up figure is around 15% above that achieved in the same period last year. The warehouse and logistics market
in Frankfurt/Rhein-Main registered a take-up of 301,000 m² in the first six months of 2015, significantly exceeding the average over the past five years (211,300 m²). The very strong result was particularly driven by above-average take-up in the second quarter, while the start of the year was rather modest. The Q2 results showed the highest quarterly take-up since records began. Retail market Frankfurt’s retail market is compact but varied. It is dominated by the main street Zeil, which is strongly focused on the mass market. Goethestrasse, which is home to luxury outlets, is currently being enhanced with new developments such as One Goetheplaza, which opened at the end of 2013. The upmarket MyZeil, NordWestZentrum, Main-Taunus-Zentrum and Skyline Plaza, near the Messe hall, are the major shopping centres. In 2014 some of the top rents in the prime locations eased slightly, having risen sharply for some years. One reason was the sluggish pace of economic growth, which made retailers drive harder bargains on the rental front. The popular consumer-orientated precinct of Zeil continues to command Frankfurt’s highest rent at €310 per m². In second place is the luxury retail location Goethestrasse at €270 per m². Many luxury labels and international brands have established themselves here in recent years, including Prada, Louis Vuitton, Zara Home and Salvatore Ferragamo, helping to create a highly attractive shopping scene. This overview has been compiled using research reports by CBRE, JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, Colliers and BNP Paribas. O VII
DOMRÖMER: NEW LIFE BETWEEN THE CATHEDRAL AND RÖMER SQUARE Michael F. Guntersdorf, CEO DomRömer GmbH
Stadthaus am Markt VIII
THE DOMRÖMER QUARTER IS BEING DEVELOPED IN THE HEART OF FRANKFURT AND WILL BRING NEW LIFE TO THE CITY’S HISTORIC CENTRE.
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he demolition of Frankfurt’s administrative town hall, an unlamented concrete colossus dating from the 1970s, five years ago provided a once-ina-lifetime opportunity to reshape the city centre. The urgent postwar rebuilding of Germany’s financial capital was necessary for economic recovery, but robbed the city of much of its former character. Now that the 7,000 m² site between St Bartholemew’s Cathedral and the former city hall (Römer) has been cleared, the DomRömer project aims to restore the living heart of an historic city.
of the 35 houses that stood between the cathedral and the Römer before being destroyed in the Second World War could be rebuilt. After examining all the sourcpostwar building bonanza. The gardens, es, including old plans, photographs and which include remains of the city’s Rothe Treuner brothers’ scale model of the man walls, Frankish royal court buildings Altstadt, we established that there was and late-medieval cellars, will be brought enough source material available for under cover to protect them from the el- 15 of the 35 houses to reconstruct them ements and presented in a museum set- in their original form. The remaining 20 ting, freely available to the public. buildings will be erected as new buildings “The tension is growing for us as we according to an area plan. This required among other things the use of designated Frankfurt-style building materials including, for example, the familiar red Main sandstone. Live’s mix Just as demanding was, and is, the inner city location of the building site. The lack of large storage spaces and the heavily used roads in the immediate vicinity required us to make a detailed logistical plan for the building site. Together with qualified partners we devised a concept that prescribed, for exampe, specific time windows for the delivery of building materials, to avoid disrupting tram and vehicle traffic. All other activities on the building site were also planned in detail in advance. At peak hours there are around 80 different companies working on site, so an exact overview is crucial for the success of the overall project.
The core of the project is 35 new residential buildings in the traditional Frankfurt style, 15 of which will be exact reproductions of former residences, based on prewar plans and photographs. Among the jewels is Haus Esslinger, a copy of a 14th-century home whose residents included an aunt of the poet Goethe. Around 200 people will be accommodated in 80 homes, while at street level there is space for 30 shops, cafes and restaurants. A two-storey underground car park will contain 600 spaces as well as cellar storage and utility connections for the new homes. The total investment is €169 mln, including the demolition of the previous building, with construction due to be completed in 2017. Masterplan In 2009 the city council drew up a masterplan for the restoration of the area and created the DomRömer GmbH company to oversee the project. “We are creating something absolutely unique,” says Michael Guntersdorf, CEO of DomRömer. “With the laying of the foundation stone at the start of 2012 we reached a turning point. The discussions were over; we know now that 15 reproductions and 20 new buildings will emerge which will be an outstanding addition and which people will want to live in. We have already been contacted by more than 650 potential buyers before the marketing has even begun. The interest is enormous and reflects the quality of the quarter.” On the southern border of the site is the Stadthaus am Markt, a row of five buildings that will incorporate an exhibition, a conference facility, seminar rooms and residences. The exhibition space will house a permanent display of Frankfurt’s archaelogical gardens, which disappeared from view during the
Haus Esslinger gradually progress with the reconstructed and new buildings,” says Michael Guntersdorf. “The architects and the companies carrying out the work are doing a very good job. Brick by brick a new Altstadt is growing up.” DomRömer is an extremely ambitious project that will change the character of Frankfurt city centre. What were the biggest challenges you faced? The rebuilding of Frankfurt’s Altstadt is a great challenge for everyone involved, but also an enormous opportunity: the DomRömer project will restore the heart of the Main metropolis. The new Altstadt, with its cafes, shops and homes, will give life to the inner city and allow citizens, visitors and residents to be part of Frankfurt’s urban history again. Two factors were a particular challenge from the beginning: the status of the historical sources and the inner city location of the 7,000 m² large building site. The first step was to establish how many
What were the priorities in terms of making the area attractive for new residents? The new quarter between the cathedral and the Römer is attractive for its central location, especially the lively mix of cafes, businesses and homes. In addition, the reconstructed buildings represent the various epochs of Frankfurt’s urban history and together with the new buildings they create an atmospheric combination of tradition and modernity. The new residents of the quarter will be part of this inner city life and enjoy buildings with modern specifications in a city centre that is rich in history. Do you see this as a blueprint that other cities can learn from? Every city, whether in Germany or Europe, has its own particular challenges. In this sense the project is certainly not a “blueprint” that can be transferred to another metropolis. However, it is worth noting how prepared the city of Frankfurt was from the outset to engage in dialogue with citizens and experts to ensure that the restoration of the historic centre of Frankfurt was as faithful as possible to the original. O IX
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FIRST PORSCHE DESIGN TOWER IN EUROPE
THE PORSCHE DESIGN TOWER IS THE LATEST ADDITION TO FRANKFURT’S REVIVED EUROPAVIERTEL, AND ONE OF THE MOST DISTINCTIVE ITEMS ON ITS SKYLINE.
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he 100m tower is being built to a design by Hamburg-based Blauraum architects, following a competition that attracted interest from 20 companies across Europe. Blauraum’s design came second in the competition, but the organisers and project developers decided to go ahead with the plan, describing it as “exceptional and authentic architecture with a distinctive and functional exterior design”. German developer P+B Planen und Bauen, which previously built the Parkend residential district on the Römischer Ring, is constructing the tower in collaboration with lifestyle brand Porsche Design. Building work is expected to begin in 2016, once planning permission has been obtained, and finish in 2018. Project developer Hilde-
brandt Immobilien say prices have not been determined for the 160 luxury apartments, but the exclusive residences are expected to command rates of around €5,000 per m².
have invested heavily in new housing projects, while listed Turkish investor-developer Servet is building a 220,000 m² logistics facility alongside 81,584 m² of office space on the former Neckermann site, a stone’s throw from the European Central Bank.
looking for a home in Frankfurt, the Europaviertel would be my first choice,” he told the Frankfurter Rundschau. The Porsche Design Tower, Europe’s first branded building, fits in with this evolution Dynamic district towards a more varied, The building is situated cosmopolitan cityscape. Its next to the Emser Brücke, eye-catching facade, with International clientele overlooking the city skyline the storeys jutting out in a on one side and the Taunus The transformation of the area staggered formation like mountains on the other. began with the closure of neatly stacked shoeboxes, The Europaviertel has been the city’s freight rail terminal is immediately recognisable transformed in recent years (Güterbahnhof), which cleared even amid the cluster of highinto a dynamic mixed residen- the space for Nicholas Grimrise buildings on the skyline. tial and office district, with shaw’s Frankfurt Messe Hall Inside, the apartments range the Skyline Plaza shopping 3, completed in 2001. It also from one to five-bedroom centre providing essential reconnected the surrounding flats, penthouses and townretail space. As the global Gallus area to the Kuhwald houses over two storeys. Car market recovers, major and Rebstock districts, inteparking is not in the baseforeign investors are looking grating it into the city centre ment, but on the first three once more to build in Germa- and driving up house prices floors of the building. And the ny’s financial capital – New and rents. In 1999 Albert Speer involvement of the prestigYork-based Tishman Speyer’s and Partners drew up an outious Porsche Design brand fourth office tower in the city, line plan to turn the Europa will tap into the demand for the 170-metre Taunus tower, viertel into “one of the larghigh-end living in Germany’s is due to be finished in 2018 est and most significant inner finance hub. “Frankfurt is the and will comprise 60,000 m² city development locations in ideal place to realise this of office space. But since the Germany.” Though the finkind of building project,” said 2008 crash the trend has been ished project was criticised by Gerd Hebebrand, managing away from purely office devel- some for the uniformity of its director of P + B Planen und opments as investors look to architecture, Michael Denkel, Bauen. “Its situation and diversify their portfolios. Gera member of Albert Speer’s economic signifance makes man and Austrian developers board of directors, insisted it this an interesting location for such as Aurelis and CA Immo had been a success. “If I was an international clientele.” O XI
EASTSIDE: SWEEPING CHANGES
Olaf Cunitz, deputy mayor for planning and building, City of Frankfurt
EVEN IN A CITY DEVELOPING AS RAPIDLY AS FRANKFURT, FEW AREAS HAVE SEEN SUCH SWEEPING CHANGES OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS AS THE EASTSIDE.
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programme of newbuild projects and renovations is giving the once decaying docklands area a new lease of life as an upmarket business and residential district. Twelve years after the municipality set up Eastside Frankfurt to invest €1 bn in the area, the results are clearly visible, with luxury flats and offices interspersed with parks and recreational facilities, gourmet restaurants and artists’ and creative studios.
The most prominent symbol of this revival is the new European Central Bank headquarters, a pair of skyscrapers reaching 165m and 185m into the air, connected by a low-rise atrium. The €1.2 bn building was constructed on the site of the former wholesale market (Großmarkthalle) by Austrian-based architectural firm Coop Himmelb(l) au. Opened in March 2015, its 48 floors accommodate around 2,900 ECB staff from 28 nations. Many of the developments growing up in the towers’ shadow reflect Frankfurt’s increasingly cosmopolitan character. More than 2000 new homes are planned in projects such as Eastgate XII
Living, a development of 90 homes on Ferdinand-Happ-Straße, and the 80 units of Quartier East opposite the ECB. Both these high-specification units are expected to command prices in excess of €4,000 per m². Office developments include Deka Immobilien’s 19-storey Lighttower and the Union-Areal, a complex of 15 buildings arranged around a square on Hanauer Landstraße, with 25,000 m² of office space and 3,000 m² of retail.
Ostviertel
such as the four-hectare Hafenpark at the foot of the ECB building, completed in 2013, which includes sports facilities and a skate park. The €42 mln Osthafenbrücke, also finished in 2013, connects the city to SachsenWhat has been the biggest hausen across the river and change in the Eastside area? provides quick access to “The Eastside has already changed more dramatically in Autobahn 661. There has the past 20 years than almost also been a concerted effort to maintain the district’s any other district,” says Olaf creative character, which Cunitz, deputy mayor for flourished in the 1980s planning and building. “This as artists moved into the development will continue. abandoned warehouses and My wish would be to significantly increase the residential factory buildings. Design showrooms such as Kontrast, capacity in the district, espea furniture megastore cially in and around Hanauer covering more than 5000 m², Landstraße. For me that is an and the multipurpose studio essential transformation: the AtelierFrankfurt on Schwechange from a district that dlerstraße attest to this was strongly commercially oriented in parts to a stronger, legacy. “There is no way the Eastside will ever become mixed use quarter.” an artists’ quarter,” said To that end the city sculptor Tobias Rehberger. authorities have spent €8 “There aren’t enough mln on recreational areas, artists in Frankfurt for that.
But for small agencies, design studios and internet companies the quarter is an exciting location.” The proliferation of luxury high-rise flats has been generated by Germany’s residential boom, but some developers believe the market in Frankfurt is reaching saturation point. Though the city is a wealth generator in Germany, it lacks the firepower to persuade high earners to relocate from global metropolises such as London, Paris and New York. “We don’t have a Munich phenomenon,” Rainer Ballwanz, founder of Ballwanz Immobilien, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung recently. “People who are looking to invest money in Europe and don’t have a connection with Frankfurt don’t think of investing here.” Iris Dilger, managing director of project developer Die Wohnkompanie, agreed: “Anything above €800,000 is hard to sell.”
Lighttower
Osthafen living
Hafenpark Viertel It could be argued, however, that these concerns are the byproduct of Frankfurt’s growing self-confidence. City planners are daring to conceive of Europe’s financial capital as a place where the continent’s money makers aspire to live as well as work. In the words of project developer Ardi Goldman: “The Eastside now has so much variety, both in its architecture and its social mix, that it will never become a luxuriously sanitised, faceless quarter.” What is the main concept behind the redevelopment of the Eastside area? When we started almost 30 years ago with the redevelopment of Frankfurt-Ostend, the main objectives were the remodelling of the public space and especially the change from a harbour area
into a district with a greater number of apartments. How does the redevelopment fit in with the plans for Frankfurt as a whole? Since Frankfurt is a growing city, all our efforts must lead to building more apartments. In recent years the Eastside has become a very attractive district and more and more people have moved here, so it became necessary to protect the residents against displacement. That means we have to improve the living area in the districts that are further from the city centre in order to take some pressure off areas like Frankfurt-Ost end. Frankfurt seems to be rediscovering its history and seeking inspiration from the past. How do you balance
this process with meeting the demands of a modern city? There is no contradiction. With our Dom-Römer-Project we are rebuilding a part of the historic city centre. For me, it is not nostalgia, but what I call the culture of remembrance. Particulary in a fast moving and dynamic city like Frankfurt, it is important for people to have a fixed point. Part of our local history can be experienced, without simply being a copy of the past. How did you attract developers to become involved in this project? Did they have a lot of freedom in deciding what to build? We have set up a company for this project that builds a mixture of reconstructions and modern buildings. The specifications are very tight. The demand for the homes was so great that we had to establish a lottery to pick the buyers. What makes the Eastside attractive for investors compared to the rest of Frankfurt, or Germany? Frankfurt-Ostend is a highly attractive district, both for homes and for commercial enterprises. It’s very close to the city centre, situated on the Main, next to the new headquarters of the
European Central Bank. These are unique locational advantages. What steps have you taken to improve the sustainability and desirability of the area? The public sector has invested €68 mln. Around 1,000 new housing units have been built and 300 have been modernised. Areas that were formerly used for the harbour have been transformed in parks, like the Weseler Werft, Ruhrorter Werft and Hafenpark. Moreover, the image of the area has completely changed: a liveable district has grown up. What further development can we expect in the Eastside in future? Is the planned extension of the FerdinandHapp-Straße, for example, a realistic option? The extension of FerdinandHapp-Straße is a realistic option, yes. At this moment there are around 2,000 apartments being built or in the planning phase, for example in the so called Honsell Triangle, at the area of the former fire station 1, along Hanauer Landstraße and Ferdinand-Happ-Straße. Additionally we have quite a few projects for office or hotel use. O XIII
CENTRE OF LEARNING THE NEW CAMPUS OF THE FRANKFURT SCHOOL OF FINANCE & MANAGEMENT WILL FORM PART OF FRANKFURT’S CITY CENTRE – AN ATTRACTIVE DESTINATION FOR TOURISTS, LOCALS, YOUNGSTERS AND ELDERLY PEOPLE.
Udo Steffens, president of the business school. “We demolished the existing building and built a new campus that will enhance our research and teaching capacity by a factor of two.
“We see a chance to become one of the top schools in Europe, especially looking from the outside, as you see in Paris rankfurt School of Finance & Manand Barcelona. Those are comparable agement is moving from its Eastinstitutions to what we have the chance side campus to a new home on the to build in the next eight or nine years.” Adickesallee, next to the student accomOverseas students modation building. The new campus, designed by Danish architectural firm The expansion has been fuelled by Henning Larsen, is due to be completed an increase in applicants from outin 2018 and will allow students to walk side Germany over the last two years. from their residence to their classroom in Overseas students made up half the a few minutes. new intake in 2015, with the 143 newcomers coming from 27 countries. The The €100 mln development is part of the school has responded to this changing private research-led institution’s stratdemographic by taking a more global egy to become one of Europe’s top five approach to its programme: the Execubusiness schools in 2020. The building tive MBA course, for example, is being will have a total floor area of 42,000 m² taught entirely in English for the first and a capacity of 2,500 students, giving time. Similarly, changes in the timetable it scope to add around 1,000 students will make it easier for students who to the roll. A new lecture theatre, the are commuting from outside the FrankAudimax, will seat 400, twice as many as furt-Main area. the largest facility on the current campus. In addition there will be 40 seminar Professor Stebbens says a supply of rooms, 61 work areas and a canteen internationally qualified personnel is with seating for 200. crucial for the long-term health of the “The Land [regional government] of Hes- economy. “If German companies want sen offered us what would have been to fill their openings they need to have the finance ministry if Frankfurt had international candidates,” he says. “In become the capital of West Germany Germany it’s been culturally more diffiinstead of Bonn,” explains Professor cult to create a bilingual institution. Even
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at bachelor level the command of English is not as developed in some parts of the administration as it should be.” Modular design The new campus’s modular design is highly flexible, allowing it to adapt to the changing needs of its users. The various learning zones, lecture halls, offices, event spaces and recreational areas are linked by a covered atrium that enables students to meet and mingle on site. The facade combines windows and closed panels arranged to accommodate sunlight, noise and wind conditions while optimising the view overlooking the city centre. Mechanical, sensor-controlled solar protection panels have been installed to prevent the building from overheating. “Frankfurt is establishing itself as a good hub,” Professor Steffens says. “It isn’t dominated by the university in the way that places like Tubingen or Munster or Göttingen are, but the university is a good complement as far as the city is concerned.” The ambitions of the business school are integral to the city’s aspirations to cement its position as an international financial capital, he argues. “We think that education and research, the availability of good schools and good universities, are quite often underestimated as an economic factor in a city. If you don’t have good graduates and good talent available in the neighbourhood, how can you grow?” O
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