A beacon of green design in Frankfurt

Construction work has begun on what is set to become the tallest residential building in Germany.  A key part of the Skyline Plaza complex in the city of Frankfurt, the 7-storey Aktivhaus will become a beacon of green design. Based on the ‘Active House’ concept, developers claim that the tower will not only fully generate its own heat and power, but produce surplus energy as well.

The innovative project comes from the team of gsp Stadtebau and Magnus Kaminiarz & Cie, who have envisioned a tower of staggering balconies and a facade with triple-insulated glazing.

The balconies provide shade during the summer and also double as windscreens. Each balcony will also come equipped with solar panels to supply energy to the building. The building’s glass envelope will allow the sun to act as a free heating source to maximise warmth in the winter.

The majority of the planned 340 apartments will each have 3 or 4 bedrooms. An attached 5-storey parking garage, echoing the striking clean design of the tower, will be accessible to all residents. The upper penthouse levels of the tower cantilever slightly as a result of their larger floor plates.

Skyline Plaza is currently anchored by a large shopping mall, with about 180 shops and restaurants. Featuring a multicoloured pattern of vertical strips, the futuristic building opened to the public in 2013. In addition to Aktivhaus, plans for a Jean Nouvel-
designed office tower have been in the  works for over a decade, though it is not clear whether those plans will eventually be realised.