Seat of the European Central Bank
| Seat of the European Central Bank | |
|---|---|
Construction site on 28 December 2014
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| Alternative names | New ECB Premises, Neubau der Europäischen Zentralbank |
| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Government offices |
| Architectural style | Deconstructivism |
| Location | Ruckertstrasse Frankfurt Hesse, Germany |
| Coordinates | 50°06′34″N 8°42′09″E / 50.10944°N 8.7025°ECoordinates: 50°06′34″N 8°42′09″E / 50.10944°N 8.7025°E |
| Construction started | Spring 2010 |
| Completed | October 2014 |
| Inaugurated | 18 March 2015 |
| Cost | ~ €1.4 billion |
| Owner | European Central Bank |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 201 m (659 ft) |
| Roof | 185 m (607 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 48 |
| Floor area | 184,000 m2 (1,980,000 sq ft) |
| Lifts/elevators | 18 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Coop Himmelb(l)au |
| Engineer | Bollinger + Grohmann Ove Arup & Partners Ebert-Ingenieure Nürnberg |
| References | |
The European Central Bank (ECB) is seated at the East end of Frankfurt. The premises include the former Wholesale Market Hall (Großmarkthalle), a new 185/165 m twin-skyscraper and a new low-rise building to connect the two. Located east of the city centre it houses the new headquarters for the European Central Bank (ECB). It was completed in 2014 and was officially opened on 18 March 2015.
The ECB is required by the Treaties of the European Union to have its seat within the city limits of Frankfurt, the largest financial centre in the Eurozone. The ECB previously resided in the Eurotower and, due to lack of office space there, in three other high-rise buildings (Eurotheum, Japan Center, and Neue Mainzer Straße 32–36) in the city centre of Frankfurt.
The newly built main office building consists of two towers that are joined by an atrium with four interchange platforms. The North tower has 45 storeys and a roof height of 185 m (607 ft), whereas the South tower has 43 storeys and a roof height of 165 m (541 ft). With the antenna, the North tower reaches a height of 201 m (659 ft). The new ECB premises furthermore comprises the Grossmarkthalle, a former wholesale market hall built from 1926–1928 and fully renovated for its new purpose.
In 1999, an international architectural competition was launched by the bank to design a new building. It was won by a Vienna-based architectural office called Coop Himmelb(l)au. The building was to be 185 meters tall (201 meters with antenna), accompanied by other secondary buildings on a landscaped site on the site of the former wholesale market (Großmarkthalle) in the eastern part of Frankfurt. The main construction work was planned to commence in October 2008, with completion scheduled for before the end of 2011.
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