Ground-breaking ceremony for the Sparda-Bank Tower and Messeplatz entrance
02 febbraio 2022
Today's ground-breaking ceremony marks the beginning of work on a new architectural highlight for Frankfurt’s Europaviertel district. A new office and hotel high-rise with 35 storeys above ground and a building height of 124 metres is being built in conjunction with the new Messeplatz entrance to the exhibition grounds.
The future users of the building have already been largely determined. Sparda-Bank Hessen, which will also own the high-rise, will locate its headquarters here. Messe Frankfurt will remain the owner and operator of the new Messeplatz entrance, which will be accessed through a shared forecourt. In future, the ATLANTIC Hotel Group will offer its guests outstanding service and a high quality of stay at a superior four-star facility with a sky bar, restaurant and sports facilities occupying 19 storeys of the high-rise building.
City Councillor Stephanie Wüst, Head of the Department for Economics, Law and Reforms of the City of Frankfurt am Main: “The architecture on the Messe Frankfurt grounds and in the immediate vicinity of the Europaviertel is characterised by iconographic buildings that are notable for their individual design. The new high-rise building at Messeplatz will fit in perfectly with its striking contribution to Frankfurt’s skyline, which is unique in Europe.”
Markus Müller, Chairman of the Board of Sparda-Bank Hessen eG: “We are very pleased that work has now begun on the construction of the new headquarters of Sparda-Bank Hessen. The Sparda-Bank Tower will not only set an architectural example but will also be a symbol of a strong cooperative that is already entering its 120th year this year. At the same time, we are creating modern office workplaces for our employees and investing in the promising Frankfurt real estate market.”
Uwe Behm, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt GmbH, explained the significance of this project: For Messe Frankfurt, the design of the new Messeplatz entrance – which will remain our property – further strengthens our globally unique city-centre location by ensuring that our customers and guests can access the exhibition grounds from every direction quickly and easily. With the construction of a new underground line in the Europaviertel, our public transport connections will include two underground lines and four S-Bahn light rail lines in future, as well as trams and buses.”
The office and hotel high-rise project is being developed by the Gustav Zech Foundation. Wolfrat Voigt, President of the Gustav Zech Foundation, highlighted some of the benefits: “We are delighted that work on this magnificent building ensemble is now getting underway. I firmly believe that its outstanding architecture will make a valuable contribution to urban development and offer its users an excellent environment in which to work, live and relax.”
The building will be erected on site 42a on Europa-Allee, directly west of the Emser Bridge. The Sparda-Bank Tower and the Messeplatz entrance will be built according to an updated version of the competition-winning design submitted by cyrus I moser I architekten (cma) and are scheduled for completion by 2025. Both buildings will frame the new Messeplatz square being created on the site, which will serve as an entrance for various uses and comprise an open urban space on Europa-Allee.
As part of a general contractor agreement, Gustav Zech Stiftung Management GmbH is responsible for building the Messeplatz entrance.
Sparda-Bank Tower hotel and office high-rise
The project development for the high-rise building provides for the development of a hotel for the ATLANTIC Hotel Group with 373 hotel rooms over 19 storeys and approx. 13,400 square metres of office space on 14 storeys on the western part of the site. Approximately 200 car parking spaces will be created on four basement levels.
Messeplatz entrance
The new Messeplatz entrance is being built on the eastern part of the project site. This will create a new four-storey entrance to the exhibition grounds from the south that is located right at the future underground station for the U5 extension to the Europaviertel, which is currently under construction. Via Mobile – the covered and glazed transport system with moving walkways and escalators on the Frankfurt exhibition grounds – will connect the new South entrance with Hall 12, which opened in 2018, and therefore also with all the other halls at Messe Frankfurt. The planned building of just under 5,000 square metres includes a spacious reception hall with access control systems, event and conference rooms, and catering facilities.