Residential and commercial property, 117 Eschersheimer Landstrasse, Frankfurt/Main
In cunctis domina pecunia est (Money makes the world go round)
(Publilius Syrus)
S. Weber, M. Wörner, K. Werner
The property under development was a rudimentary residential block in the vicinity of 121 Eschersheimer Landstrasse, the office building designed by the agency. Existing structural features were borrowed and modified to create homes in the style of individual houses. A round stair tower forms the structural link to the flat-ceilinged neighbouring building, the interloper in the ensemble.
The core problem and basic conflict of aims which emerged from the planning discussions with the City of Frankfurt and the political agencies responsible, was the contradiction between the demand for the greatest possible number of smaller homes on the one hand, and the desire, for ecological reasons, to avoid or minimise the use of open spaces for car-parking on the other.
At the same time, the project had, of course, to be commercially viable for the proprietors and operators. A five-pronged design was adopted for the residential buildings, with the apartments grouped around a central stairwell which, to comply with statutory building regulations, has access to the open air.
The plaster facade has been subdivided into self-contained units by graduated bays. The road junction is given prominence in a ‘glass corner’, which acts as a counterpart to the neighbouring office buildings. The ground floor area has a natural stone foundation in formal analogy to the neighbouring office building, which is clad in the same material.
