540
Global
Height rank

Commerzbank Tower

Frankfurt am Main
Height
1
To Tip:
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest point of the building, irrespective of material or function of the highest element (i.e., including antennae, flagpoles, signage and other functional-technical equipment).
300 m / 984 ft
2
Architectural:
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."
259 m / 850 ft
3
Occupied:
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest occupied floor within the building.
190 m / 623 ft
  Floors
Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).
56
Below Ground
The number of floors below ground should include all major floors located below the ground floor level.
2
1 2 3 Commerzbank Tower
Height 259 m / 850 ft
Floors 56
Official Name
The current legal building name.

Commerzbank Tower

Other Names
Other names the building has commonly been known as, including former names, common informal names, local names, etc.

Commerzbank Zentrale

Type
CTBUH collects data on two major types of tall structures: 'Buildings' and 'Telecommunications / Observation Towers.' A 'Building' is a structure where at least 50% of the height is occupied by usable floor area. A 'Telecommunications / Observation Tower' is a structure where less than 50% of the structure's height is occupied by usable floor area. Only 'Buildings' are eligible for the CTBUH 'Tallest Buildings' lists.

Building

Status
Completed
Architecturally Topped Out
Structurally Topped Out
Under Construction
Proposed
On Hold
Never Completed
Vision
Competition Entry
Canceled
Proposed Renovation
Under Renovation
Renovated
Under Demolition
Demolished

Completed

Completion

1997

Country
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of Country, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

Germany

City
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of City, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

Frankfurt am Main

Address

Kaiserplatz 1

Function
A single-function tall building is defined as one where 85% or more of its usable floor area is dedicated to a single usage. Thus a building with 90% office floor area would be said to be an "office" building, irrespective of other minor functions it may also contain.

A mixed-use tall building contains two or more functions (or uses), where each of the functions occupy a significant proportion of the tower's total space. Support areas such as car parks and mechanical plant space do not constitute mixed-use functions. Functions are denoted on CTBUH "Tallest Building" lists in descending order, e.g., "hotel/office" indicates hotel function above office function.

Office

Structural Material
All-Steel
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from steel. Note that a building of steel construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of steel beams is still considered an “all-steel” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

All-Concrete
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from concrete which has been cast in place and utilizes steel reinforcement bars and/or steel reinforced concrete which has been precast as individual components and assembled together on-site.

All-Timber
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from timber. An all-timber structure may include the use of localized non-timber connections between timber elements. Note that a building of timber construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of timber beams is still considered an “all-timber” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

Mixed-Structure
Utilizes distinct systems (e.g. all-steel, all-concrete, all-timber), one on top of the other. For example, a Steel Over Concrete indicates an all-steel structural system located on top of an all-concrete structural system, with the opposite true of Concrete Over Steel.

Composite
A combination of materials (e.g. steel, concrete, timber) are used together in the main structural elements. Examples include buildings which utilize: steel columns with a floor system of reinforced concrete beams; a steel frame system with a concrete core; concrete-encased steel columns; concrete-filled steel tubes; etc. Where known, the CTBUH database breaks out the materials used within a composite building’s primary structural elements.

Concrete-Steel Composite

Height
Architectural
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."

259 m / 850 ft

To Tip
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest point of the building, irrespective of material or function of the highest element (i.e., including antennae, flagpoles, signage and other functional-technical equipment).
300 m / 984 ft
Occupied
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest occupied floor within the building.
190 m / 623 ft
Floors Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).

56

Floors Below Ground
The number of floors below ground should include all major floors located below the ground floor level.

2

# of Elevators
Number of Elevators refers to the total number of elevator cars (not shafts) contained within a particular building (including public, private and freight elevators).

25

Tower GFA
Tower GFA refers to the total gross floor area within the tower footprint, not including adjoining podiums, connected buildings or other towers within the development.

108,000 m² / 1,162,502 ft²

Rankings

  • By Location
#
540
Tallest in the World
#
22
Tallest in Europe
#
1
Tallest in Germany
#
1
Tallest in Frankfurt am Main

Construction Schedule

1994

Construction Start

1997

Completed

2010

Recladding

Architect
Design

Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
Foster + Partners
Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
Arup
MEP Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
J. Roger Preston Limited
Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).
(not specified)
AECOM
Cost
alinea Consulting
Vertical Transportation
Lerch Bates Europe; J. Roger Preston Limited
Wind
RWDI
Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).
Elevator
thyssenkrupp

Retrofit Companies Involved

Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).
Cladding
Permasteelisa Group
Owner
Current
Samsung Group
Developer
Commerzbank
Architect
Design

Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
Foster + Partners
Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
Arup; Krebs und Kiefer
MEP Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
J. Roger Preston Limited; Schad and Holzel
Engineer of Record

The Engineer of Record takes the balance of the engineering effort not executed by the “Design Engineer,” typically responsible for construction documents, conforming to local codes, etc.
Pettersson & Ahrens Ingenieur-Planung GmbH
Project Manager

The CTBUH lists a project manager when a specific firm has been commissioned to oversee this aspect of a tall building’s design/construction. When the project management efforts are handled by the developer, main contract, or architect, this field will be omitted.
Nervus Gmbh
Contractor
Main Contractor

The main contractor is the supervisory contractor of all construction work on a project, management of sub-contractors and vendors, etc. May be referred to as "Construction Manager," however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Main Contractor" exclusively.
HOCHTIEF Construction AG Niederlassung Hamburg
Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).
(not specified)
AECOM
Cost
alinea Consulting
Foundation
Prof. Quick und Kollegen - Ingenieure und Geologen GmbH
Geotechnical
Prof. Quick und Kollegen - Ingenieure und Geologen GmbH
Property Management
PATRIZIA Immobilien AG
Vertical Transportation
Jappsen+Stangier Oberwesel GmbH; Lerch Bates Europe; J. Roger Preston Limited
Wind
RWDI
Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).
Elevator
thyssenkrupp

Retrofit Companies Involved

Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).
Cladding
Permasteelisa Group

CTBUH Initiatives

CTBUH Meeting Frankfurt

28 November 2016 - Event

 

Research

28 July 2018

Using Height-Relative Variables To Design Tall Buildings

John Jory, Queensland University of Technology

This paper investigates height-variable phenomena in the urban context, and their relevance to the design and performance of tall buildings. It proposes a design approach...

See more

Research

28 July 2018

Using Height-Relative Variables To Design Tall Buildings

John Jory, Queensland University of Technology

This paper investigates height-variable phenomena in the urban context, and their relevance to the design and performance of tall buildings. It proposes a design approach...

01 July 2018

Towards Resource-Generative Skyscrapers

Mohamed Imam & Branko Kolarevic, University of Calgary

Rapid urbanization, resource depletion, and limited land are further increasing the need for skyscrapers in city centers; therefore, it is imperative to enhance tall building...

01 March 2018

Designing the High-Rise Building from the Inside/Out

Timothy Johnson & Jonathan Ward, NBBJ

For over 100 years, the tall building has largely advanced in technological innovation; however very little has been done in the terms of understanding the...

17 October 2016

Towards Resource Generative Skyscrapers

Mohamed Imam & Branko Kolarevic, University of Calgary

Rapid urbanization, resource depletion, and limited land are further increasing the need for skyscrapers in city centers; therefore, it is imperative to enhance tall building...

01 June 2013

The Past, Present and Future of the European Skyscraper

CTBUH Research

There are currently 109 skyscrapers over 150 meters in Europe. This number is set to jump to 161 by the end of 2015, meaning that...

01 May 2011

The Importance of Real Life Data to Support Environmental Claims for Tall Buildings

Joana Gonçalves, Universidade de São Paulo (FAUUSP); Klaus Bode, BDSP Partnership

One of the main causes of energy efficiency failures is LEED rewarding projects for their predictions, but not for proving the savings. The operation of...

13 April 2011

Tall and Urban: An Analysis of Global Population and Tall Buildings

CTBUH Research

Tall buildings are spreading across the globe at an ever-increasing rate. This study demonstrates the relationship between population and tall buildings across those countries and...

01 February 2009

The Skycourt - A Comparison of Four Case Studies

Jason Pomeroy, Broadway Malyan

The effects of industrial capitalism and secularism have not only seen the fall of public man (Sennett 1976) but the slow disintegration of the public...