House of Crafts

The House of crafts/Haus des Handwerks is a child of its time. Built in 1972 in Frankfurt’s city center, it displays typical features of office buildings of the era. Horizontal ribbon windows and solid parapets characterize the sympathetically restrained appearance of the façade and at the same time highlight the building’s structural design as a reinforced concrete skeleton structure. In order to meet the inner-city parking requirements, the building is elevated on the first floor. The event hall on the sixth floor represents an additional use of the building.

The renovation of the building included the renewal of its façades, the modernization of the building services, the updating of fire protection and the restructuring of individual floors. The aim of the renovation work was to preserve the character of the building and – where possible – to strengthen it.

A large-format “picture” made of transparent mosaic tiles hung in front of the existing façade picks up on the basic principles of the building’s design and serves to optimize the energy efficiency of the building’s outer wall.

Measuring around five by five centimetres and eight millimetres thick, the small glass stones reflect natural light with varying intensity by day and night. They alternate between a relaxed semi-darkness in moonlight and a white of infinite depth that begins to glow in direct sunlight.

The structure of the stairwell and the office floors has been retained. Openness and transparency are the main characteristics of the interior.

In future, the hall can be divided into two event rooms of different sizes. The new variability is supported by the modernized building technology and improved room acoustics.

Another special feature of the building is the newly created roof terrace. The wooden floorboards and the surrounding cherry laurel hedge create an outdoor space with a unique quality. It serves as an open-air lounge and versatile event space. The views of the Frankfurt skyline are impressive.

The roof terrace represents the second escape route from the building. This makes it not only a striking location, but also one of the most beautiful escape routes in Frankfurt.