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Site preparations are beginning for the tallest residential building in Germany. A key part of the Skyline Plaza building complex in Frankfurt, the 47-storey Aktivhaus will become a beacon of green design. Based on the 'Active House' concept, 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 Städtebau and Magnus Kaminiarz & Cie. Architektur, 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 operate the building. The building's glass envelope will allow the sun to act as a free heating source to maximize warmth in the winter.
The majority of the planned 340 apartments will host three and four bedrooms. An attached five-storey parking garage, echoing the striking clean design of the tower, will be accessible to all residents. Renderings of the building show greenery pouring over terraces while 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 realized.
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