Silberturm

Silberturm
Silberturm viewed from the Roßmarkt
Former names	Dresdner-Bank-Hochhaus Jürgen-Ponto-Hochhaus
General information
Type	Commercial offices
Architectural style	Modernism
Location	Jürgen-Ponto-Platz 1 Frankfurt Hesse, Germany
Coordinates	50°06′35″N 8°40′10″E / 50.10972°N 8.66944°E / 50.10972; 8.66944Coordinates: 50°06′35″N 8°40′10″E / 50.10972°N 8.66944°E / 50.10972; 8.66944
Construction started	1972
Completed	1978
Height
Roof	166.3 m (546 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	32 2 below ground
Lifts/elevators	16
Design and construction
Architect	ABB Architekten
Engineer	BGS Ingenieursozietät
Main contractor	Bilfinger Berger Philipp Holzmann
References

Silberturm (English: Silver Tower), formerly known as Dresdner-Bank-Hochhaus and Jürgen-Ponto-Hochhaus, is a 32-storey, 166.3 m (546 ft) skyscraper in the Bahnhofsviertel district of Frankfurt, Germany. It was the tallest building in Germany from 1978 until 1990. Until 2009 it was part of the headquarters of Dresdner Bank, one of Germany's largest banks until its merger with Commerzbank in 2009. As of 2012 the main tenant is Deutsche Bahn.

Built by Bilfinger Berger, the Silberturm is located at Jürgen-Ponto-Platz, which opens onto Kaiserstrasse. The square is named after Jürgen Ponto, the former CEO of Dresdner Bank who was murdered in 1977 by members of the Red Army Faction (RAF). The Silberturm, along with the seven-story building Gallusanlage 8, formed the Dresdner Bank Headquarters from 1978 to 2008. In 2003, a new tower (Gallileo) was built.

After the takeover of Dresdner Bank by Commerzbank in early 2009, the new owner planned to sell the Silberturm because the office space was no longer needed. But since a sale of the building, which is worth approximately 200 million euros, was no longer deemed possible in the wake of the financial crisis, the complete high-rise and also the Gallusanlage 8 building were leased on long term to Deutsche Bahn in the summer of 2009. The Gallileo highrise will continue to be used by Commerzbank.

The tower has 2 underground floors and 32 floors above ground. On the third and fourth floors there was a staff canteen until 2008. The 31st floor housed a swimming pool until 1994, when it was converted into a conference room. The 32nd floor was partially destroyed in an 1 April 1998 fire.

The story height of the standard floors is 4.2 m, with a floor area of 1,900 square meters. The highrise is founded on a 3400 m² reinforced concrete slab that is 4.0 m thick. In plan view, the tower consists of two large, rounded squares which are arranged with a longitudinal offset of several meters. In the resulting niches on each side, two elongated rounded rectangles are located, housing the lifts and emergency staircases. The theme of the rounded corners is repeated throughout the building, for example in the windows and pillars, and information signs on the inside.