Competition procedure Gerling Quarter
The future of the Gerling area has an urban development view. In a multiphase, ambitious procedure, the firm kister scheithauer gross, Architekten und Stadtplaner GmbH out of Cologne were able to assert themselves over the competition during the last phase.
In April of this year, the new owner of the Gerling area, Frankonia Eurobau Friesenquartier GmbH, has initiated an appraisal procedure for the future of the Gerling area in collaboration with the City of Cologne. To ensure diversity of ideas as well as feasibility to the same extent, the project corporation Frankonia Eurobau Friesenquartier GmbH, the shareholders of which are Frankonia Eurobau AG, Nettetal and Immofinanz AG, Vienna, have invited nationally and internationally renowned architect firms to participate in this multiphase competition during which the requirements will become more detailed step by step as the firms are selected.
On 19 October 2007, a 13-person, high-carat recommendation committee presided over by the former Munich city council Ms. Prof Christiane Thalgott, have unanimously decided in favor of Cologne-based architects scheithauer gross, Architekten und Stadtplaner GmbH. Runners up were Steidle Architekten out of Munich and Petzinka Pink Architekten from Düsseldorf came in third.
The winning design by the firm from Cologne was characterized by a high level of sensitivity towards the existing, mostly listed buildings of the Gerling area. Carefully and cleverly, rooftop superstructures are offered that yield additional more efficiently organizable surface areas without alienating the valuable character of the building culture in the area. At carefully selected locations, additional new buildings shall be erected that speak their own architectural language and provide a strong indication for the future of the Gerling area. For example a so-called gate house gives the Gereonshof additional appeal, which through its utilization will contribute to revitalizing the square. In the environ of the old city archive emerges a style of urban living with its own flair. The tower building at the Gereonshof is shaped into becoming a residential tower with lavish apartments boasting a grand view of the Cologne skyline. In the Gerling office wing as well as the adjacent Hufeisen building, a luxurious hotel with conferencing options will be created.
"On this urban planning basis, conceptual refinements will be made over the coming months. On top of that Frankonia Eurobau AG is planning to organize an additional competition for the design of the Gereonhof as it is the "centerpiece" of both the old and the new Gerling area", Uwe Schmitz, Chairman and CEO of Frankonia Eurobau AG explains.
Frankonia Eurobau AG takes on a leadership position in the German development market. Frankonia is specialized in the development, realization, and marketing of high-spec premium locations and premium projects and as a full-service real estate provider and real estate investment house, covering the end-to-end value-added chain in real estate.
Frankonia identifies, builds, markets, and manages high-value city quarters with residential, office, retail, and hotel real estate with value-adding utilization and service concepts.
IMMOFINANZ AG was founded in 1990 and is the leading real estate company in the center of Europe. IMMOFINANZ is listed in the Prime Market on the Vienna Exchange and is one of the largest public real-estate companies in Europe. The real estate portfolio currently encompasses 2,876 objects from the residential, office, retail, logistics, garages, and hotel domains with 12.5 million m2 effective surface and a market value of ca. 17.1 billion euro. Core markets for IMMOFINANZ in the West are Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. In the East the company has made large investments in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe as well as Russia and the Ukraine.