Commerzbank HeadquartersFrankfurt

LiakosBen

AristonMcKay

The Structure

•Vision of Sir Norman Foster

•Constructed 1994 - 1997 in the heart of Frankfurt

•299 meters, 53 floors – the Tallest building in Europe

•Steel framing

•Green Design

The Green Design

• Minimum Environmental Impact

• Healthy Human Interaction

• Energy Efficient

Happy Worker make better world. !!!

The Scientific “S”

• Virendeel beams

Cross-section of climatic façade

Daylighting

• 7.5 m from a window!

• Happy worker

Cooling and Ventilation

• Garden spaces provide evaporative cooling• Atrium stack effect produces ventilation• Operable windows• Aerodynamic Building Design

The Solar Envelope

• Not “Green” at other buildings’ expense

Wrapping it all up(structurally)

At the

Office facades as built, with air gaps top and

bottom of outer glazing

Sitting monkey

The monolith appears

The Social “S”

•Not monolithic, but inviting for the happiness of the workers

Shape “Forms” Forces

• Socially inviting, not too windy• Perambulate around the building, stop in a park – a nice park. • Maybe a Mediterranean park, NO, a North American Park, NO a Asian park (based on the direction).

Connecting Happy Worker

• You can look into other people’s offices – so there will be no secrets.

• Secrets that divide us.

•Galleria, shops, bring community together

•Fresh feelings

SO NICE TO BE OUTSIDE IN GERMANY

Its springtime for Commerzbank in Germany][][][][][][][][][

The Symbolic “S”

• On the day the Commerzbank opened, the Financial Times adopted it as the symbol of Frankfurt, just as it features Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower as symbols of London and Paris.

An Evolution in Form

• Commerzbank symbolizes, as the tallest building in Europe, A New Form for Structures

• Like the Menai Straits Bridge of this Era

Are we going GREEN?

Conflicting Ideals

• Is structural art, as defined by David P. Billington applicable to buildings?

• What about the environment?

Billington’s Blunder?

?

Skyscraper Words of Wisdom

“If you ever fall off the Commerzbank Centrale Building, just go real limp, because maybe you’ll look like a dummy and people will try to catch you because, hey, free dummy.”

Jack Handy