#106 l Messeturm l FRANKFURT l 256m l 55fl

[Vesle]

Messeturm
Frankfurt, Germany

HEIGHT: 256m/843 feet
FLOORS: 63 floors
COMPLETION: 1990
ARCHITECT: Murphy Jahn Architects

The Messeturm, or Fair Tower, stands as a distinctive marker at the entrance of the Messe Frankfurt complex. This complex, which includes the historic Festhalle built in 1909 and the Korngresshalle, is the exhibition center of Frankfurt.

The goal was to build a new Exhibition Hall with 20,000 square meters of exhibition space. The entry building to the "city" of the Messe is an office building of 85,000 square meters and 900 parking spaces (in accordance with city requirements.) Space is provided for outdoor exhibitions.

The office building is freestanding and designed like a campanile among the surrounding low-rise buildings. The Messeturm's classical composition is carefully synchronized by using the basic shapes of triangles, circles, and squares. The architectural themes, long span hall, arcade, pavilion, tower, campanile, and gate are elaborate in form and subtle in their relationships. Pure geometric forms are interrelated, rotated, transformed and elaborated in the materials and detailing.

The Halle (or hall) 1 is 90 x 140 meters in plan. The clear span of the roof is 80 meters. The total floor area of this building including the entrance pavilion is 70,000 square meters/750,000 sq.ft. Two 140-m by 7-m cores house the large freight elevators, stairs, toilets, and mechanical equipment.

The office tower has a height of 251 meters/825 ft, which makes it the second tallest building in Europe (falling after the Commerzbank Tower also located in Frankfurt.) This height was the result of several factors, one of which is the German labor regulations which requires that an office worker must be in the immediate vicinity of a window. This requirement reduces the size of the floor space which surrounds the core of the building.

The "gate" which the tower forms at the street level, and the pyramid top which is occupied by the cooling towers, also add to the height. The total floor area in the tower is 85,000 sq. meters.

The tower is derived architecturally from the great American skyscrapers of the 1920's and 1930's rather than the modern ones which mostly fill the Frankfurt skyline. The rigorous geometry which governs its shape begins in plan with a granite-clad square. The square is inscribed around a circle which is clad in glass.

This circle, a cylinder in volume, is visible above the "gate," at the notched corners and near the top, where the granite-clad square recedes. The glass cylinder steps back twice below the top pyramid and is articulated there by rhythmically alternating window recesses.

Over the top rises a pyramid which steps back three times. The corners of the pyramid are centered on the sides of the tower where the triangular bay windows rise from the apex of the gate to the top.

The entrance lobby is itself a cylinder with clear glass and surrounded by large columns supporting the core. The entrance lobby contains six shuttle elevators in an open frame leading to the sky lobby from which twelve more elevators bring the occupants to their respective floors.

The building is constructed of concrete and the facade has polished red granite-clad columns laced with flamed stripes and profiled aluminum bands at every floor. The glass is reflective silver. The mullion and window frame color is that of metallic silver beige baked-on paint.

Messetrum broke a world's record when 240 workers poured concrete from 90 ready-mix trucks using pumps in a three-day operation. The 19.7 ft. deep, 22,236 cu. yd. reinforced concrete mat foundation was poured over 78 hours, and is one of the largest in the world.















How much will you rate it?

[Jasonhouse]

One of my favorites skyscrapers in the World!

9.5/10

[AG]

One of the world's most unqiue and economic buildings along with Commerzbank! 10/10

[Phil]

One of the bests, 9/10 cause the color is not perfect

[luis4083]

beautiful design....sleek and elegant, i like the pyramid shape design on top.... i give it 8.5/10

[Vesle]

I'm glad you all like it. It's among my favourites in the world too.

The square base, the box that rises from it, and the inside cylinder that makes the corners round. The box that decreases in widt because it has setbacks that reminds of stairs. The cylinder that tops the main shaft out, the small cylinder on top of the main one, the 45 degree turned sharp corners that rises all way up the flat facade, the big and the small cylinder aqnd finally the pyramid that ends these sharp corners so well!

I give it 10/10 of course.

[Jasonhouse]

I added some pics, because I love it so much!

[Ersh]

I think this one is nice. I'll give it an 8.5/10.

Commerzbank is my favorite in Frankfurt, though.

[SteelCity32]

I like it 9/10

[Caledon1981]

8.5/10 that tower would fit in real nice in Atlanta

[RafflesCity]

8.5/10

One of my favourites in Europe. Looks a bit like a castle and its colour is unique.

[Vesle]

NOTE: I took this photo I showed in my original post. (Just had to tell ya all)

Originally posted by caledon1981
8.5/10 that tower would fit in real nice in Atlanta

Yes, I have always thought of that too, because Atlanta has so many skyscrapers with pyramidal roofs. (which are, like Messeturm, also very fine lit up btw). Comparing the two cities, they have another two things in common as well:
[*] Both cities are not coastal ones, but located pretty high and in a very long distance from any coast.
[*] Both cities has a cylindrical tower as well. Atlanta has Westin Peachtree Hotel, while Frankfurt has Main Tower. Although the two buildings are close to the same hight, there are another 20 floors to find in Westin Peachtree Hotel though.

Anyways, Jasonhouse, thanks for the nice add to this thread! Those pics were very fine indeed. I have taken a photo of Messeturm from exactly the same angle as the b/w pic you posted. Also Jasonhouse, thanks for editing the voting options.

I love this scraper! 9/10!

[Patrick]

10/10 of course!

One of the best in the world! I like the design, the color ist ok, and by far the first thing you see is a tower with a pyramide on its top

just absolutely love it

[DrumCorpsAlum]

Kul tower!
9/10.

[Rainier Meadows]

Overall it's a common design especially from a distance.........-1 due to this.....6/10.........awesome up close!

[hypermount]

8/10

Not one of my favourites, but it's ok.

6.5/10

[Bob di Gills]

Er...not really for me.

6/10

[miaouss]

I've seen it 3 months ago, I really like its design, but it's not my favourite in Frankfurt.

9/10