High-rise Office Building, Cologne Deutz Read more

A new representative office building for the Landschaftsverband Rheinland is to be realized opposite the forecourt of the Deutz station, where it will be quite significant and act as a model for sustainable building practices. Its sensitive integration into the heterogeneous context and the sight line to Cologne’s Cathedral, a UNESCO world heritage, posed a unique challenge.
We propose four buildings that vary in height and are staggered to one another on the site. By doing so the taller buildings can be placed at a distance to the site boundary. Three public spaces with different dedications are created and adjusted in scale to the neighboring buildings. Two inviting forecourts opposite the Deutz station mark the new address of the LVR, a third square acts as a public space in the dense neighborhood composed of perimeter block buildings. The separation into four buildings maximizes the naturally lit office space along the façade.
The façade was developed in accordance to specifications made by the LVR that all office spaces are to be naturally ventilated. The façade’s concept has an embedded flexibility in order to react to different demands depending on orientation, noise levels and building height by adding layers and elements. The different angles of the floor-to-ceiling metal frames of the prefabricated elements are derived from the sun’s path and act as solar protection. The varying angles and the decreasing saturation towards the top generate a fascinating image.