MainTor-Areal

The WinX (Wings) high-rise sets the urban design tone at the center of the MainTor ensemble and is set to stand some 110 meters tall. In the tower, with its two wings and designed by architect Jürgen Engel, there will be about 31,000 m² of gross surface area spread across 29 stories. The building will have glass and light natural stone facades and boast a striking three-storey lobby. The office premises can be ventilated by opening the windows. Access to the high-rise is via a 26-meter-high portal building on Neue Mainzer Strasse that houses a further 9,400 m² of space. In all instances, the ground floor will feature hospitality outlets and retailing. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2014-5 and to take three years.

The Panorama high-rise will have a prestigious location on the corner of Neue Mainzer Strasse and Untermainkai – overlooking the river. It will constitute a new highlight on the riverbank and at 64 meters high takes its cue from the neighboring listed Schweizer National building created in 1962 by architects Max Meid and Helmut Romeick: together with it the Panorama, designed by Christoph Mäckler, will form the new gate to the city. The high-rise will have 17 stories, including the plinth and provide some 15,700 square meters of gross surface area. On the north side access to the historical Alte Mainzer Gasse will now be possible again, with a high arcade envisaged. Construction commenced in 2013 and is expected to take two years.

The Porta high-rise located in the Northeast on the corner of Weissfrauenstrasse and Seckbächer Gasse constitutes the gateway from the city into the MainTor ensemble and at 70 meters high will house 19 office floors. Located along Weissfrauenstrasse the plinth runs to a height of 22 meters and has seven storeys. It will feature office and conference areas as well as hospitality and retail outlets on the ground floor. There will be an arcade along Weissfrauenstrasse to offer pedestrians a broader sidewalk. The high-rise’s main entrance will be on Seckbächer Gasse. In total, the building has a gross surface area of 24,000 square meters, and, designed by Jürgen Engel, boasts a light natural stone facade. Construction work was completed in 2014.

The MainTor project started with the former Degussa high-rise direct on Willy Brandt Platz, which has been modernized. The conversion work on the 46-meter-high tower, which has around 6,300 sq.m. of gross surface area, is being handled by the architects at Jürgen Engel. The new ground floor arcade now enhances links into the new quarter. Modernization work completed in 2014  serves to bring the appearance of the high-rise, newly named Primus, into line with the rest of the MainTor projects. The high-rise was sold to a private investor prior to commencement of conversion work and the first tenant will be DIC itself, which is renting 3,300 sq.m. of space.

There will be seven residential building in the South and East sections of the MainTor grounds providing a total of 21,000 sq.m. of gross floor area. The 210-odd apartments will in part have a view out over the Main. Work on the Palazzi and the Patio commenced in 2013. Between Seckbächer Gasse and the new central plaza, the eight-storey Patio will be erected to plans by the Jürgen Engel architectural company. On the upper floors there will be some 80 high-end apartments with hospitality outlets on the ground floor. The six residential blocks on Untermainkai and Alte Mainzer Gasse are together called the Palazzi and will include about 130 apartments. Each of these will have room heights of 2.70 meters, a loggia or patio and in part views of the river. The facades will be clad in natural stone. The residential block on Alte Mainzer Gasse was designed by the architects at Braun & Volleth – the four buildings trace the historical line of Alte Mainzer Gasse. The two blocks on Untermainkai to the East of the historical villa were masterminded by Jo. Franzke architects.

In Degussa days, this listed villa on Untermainkai served as the venue for festive occasions. After being fully restored in 2011 the villa serves as a meeting point for the business and cultural worlds. It is one of the few surviving Classicist buildings in Frankfurt.

A concept has been devised for the surfaces of the pathways and squares that takes into account both existing materials used nearby and the investor’s design wishes. The construction work on the buildings meant that the developer had to replace the pathways on site. The surface design of the public areas takes its cue from the City of Frankfurt’s standards in this regard. Brownish red paving has been laid in Neue Mainzer Straße and along the further course of the street, and in Kaiserstraße. In Weissfrauenstraße anthracite-colored paving will be used as is to be found already in Braubachstraße. Both forms of paving will be laid in diagonal lines using stones sized 40 x 40 cm. Inside the quarter, primarily bright paving will be deployed, alternating with narrow black strips. The plan is for darker paving in the form of a ‘carpet’ in the Arcades. On the plaza between Patio and WinX there will be an expanse of water. The deck of Alte Mainzer Gasse will be dark in color.

For pedestrians and cyclists, the opening of the ensemble by the new construction work creates new and appealing paths and links. In future you will, if coming from the direction of downtown be able to cut diagonally across the MainTor grounds to reach Sachsenhausen via the Untermainbrücke. Vehicles have to date only been able to access the complex centrally via Seckbächer Gasse, which was also the location of the underground car park. In future four underground car parks beneath the main construction areas will have decentral access routes. They are in part interconnected. In total, there will be 695 parking spaces, of which 273 are assigned to the apartments. 50 parking spaces will be available for public use during week days from 6 p.m. and otherwise round-the-clock to provide additional parking spaces for visitors to cultural institutions in the immediate vicinity.