At 259 metres, the Commerzbank Tower is the tallest building in Germany with 45 office floors. The high-rise with its light-flooded central triangular atrium, was designed by Foster & Partner Architects and completed in 1997.

Arup was commissioned with the structural design of this innovative building project and also provided traffic studies as well as geotechnical, wind and fire engineering up to scheme design stage.

We designed the structural system as a tube structure with an external bracing system of Vierendeel frames, the first of its kind in Germany.

First tube structure in Germany

The Commerzbank Tower has a total of 62 floors, 50 of which are above ground. The building stands on a pile foundation with 111 large bored piles that reach up to 50m deep into the ground. 

The basic shape is an equilateral triangle with rounded corners and slightly convex side façades that enclose a 160m high atrium. This area, which is flooded with light and air, extends over 43 storeys and is structured in a spiral pattern by a total of nine internal themed gardens, each 15m high alternating with 30m high office floors.

We planned the structural system for vertical and horizontal loads in such a way that it forms a tube structure with an external bracing system of Vierendeel frames (each 8 floors deep), the only one of its kind in Germany up until then. 

The storey slabs are designed as a wide-span concrete-steel-composite construction and enable column-free office wings of around 400m².

Partners & collaborators

Foster + Partners