Last Thursday, DWS, the project developer, held a press event at its headquarters to discuss the revitalization project of the Park Tower high-rise in Frankfurt. Caspar Schmitz-Morkramer then gave media representatives a tour of the building and explained the planned measures.

The Park Tower in Frankfurt’s Rothschildpark is a testament to constant transformation. Since its construction in 1972 as the headquarters of the Südwestdeutsche Genossenschafts-Zentralbank, the building has been an integral part of the Frankfurt skyline. At the time, the 96-meter-high building was known as the “SGZ Tower” and was the tallest skyscraper in the city for a short time. Originally a black steel-and-glass monolith, the building was given its current double structure in 2005 with the addition of a clasp-like extension that created two interlocking structures. Caspar will now transform the Park Tower once again for DWS, significantly extending its life cycle with sustainable, forward-looking measures.

The Park Tower tells the story of its transformation through two precisely placed incisions: the Opera Joint and the Park Joint. What appears at first glance to be a dramatic crack in the structure is actually a sophisticated design element that brings light, air, and greenery into the depths of the building. Both joints open the tower up toward the Old Opera House and Rothschild Park on the other side. By cutting through the structure, the joints also connect it; each joint creates spacious, lushly landscaped loggias that alternate from floor to floor. A finely rhythmic pattern of open spaces emerges — separate yet interlocking. In this way, the joints become places of relief, quality, and identity. They are architectural features that showcase the transformation of the Park Tower and draw the city’s greenery upwards.

Client: DWS Grundbesitz GmbH, represented by DWS Real Estate GmbH
Property planning: caspar., GREAID with K. Dörflinger Ges. f. Elektroplanung, Dipl. Ing. Wolfgang Peché, Werner Sobek, Werner Sobek Green Technologies, CDM Smith, Rieser Wessel, AplusF Fassadenplanung, C.F. Architekten, Wittig + Kirchner, Brockmann & Kaiser, A·G Licht, HKK Landschaftsarchitektur
General Planning: caspar.gp
General Contractor: Lupp
Visualizations: © caspar./bloomimages