A city that embodies transformation

Building on what exists rather than building anew: Frankfurt am Main demonstrates how architecture can respond to climate change, resource scarcity, and evolving ways of living and working. Between its spectacular skyline and its protected historic buildings, new projects are emerging that redefine not only structures and urban districts, but also perspectives. Three selected examples illustrate how transformation is shaping the city of tomorrow.

On the site where the Deutsche Bank complex once stood as a self-contained island within the city centre, Four Frankfurt is now taking shape: a mixed-use district where four high-rise towers bring together offices, apartments, hotels, and restaurants. Designed by UNStudio and HPP Architects, the ensemble represents transformation on an urban scale, reconnecting the site with its surroundings through public squares and new pedestrian routes. Rather than focusing on preserving individual buildings, the project centred on the reorganisation of an entire urban area. The diverse mix of uses is intended to activate the district throughout the day and strengthen the city centre as a place to live. This is an important step towards curbing urban sprawl and the associated land sealing, while bringing more life back into the city.

At the same time, Four Frankfurt demonstrates how urban density can be reinterpreted. Living, working, and leisure are brought closer together, while public open spaces create new connections. Here, transformation means opening up a previously closed-off site that had already been sealed and reimagining it as an integral part of everyday urban life.

The project shows that urban development does not take place solely through individual buildings, but also through the way architecture shapes public space and contributes to strengthening city centres.

As is widely known, Frankfurt’s skyline has traditionally been defined by office towers. The 190-metre-high Omniturm, designed by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, introduces a different perspective by combining office space, residential units, and publicly accessible areas within a single building. Particularly striking are the residential floors that cantilever outward from the tower’s vertical axis, creating generous terraces and giving the building its distinctive silhouette.

The Omniturm thus exemplifies the transformation of urban use patterns. Living and working are no longer treated as strictly separate functions, but are instead integrated within one building. In doing so, the project responds to the need for new ways of thinking about urban space as working environments evolve and traditional office locations are required to take on new roles.

Architecturally, the tower makes a distinctive contribution to the cityscape, which is itself undergoing transformation. The staggered floors soften the strict verticality typically associated with high-rise buildings, while creating generous private outdoor spaces at great heights. In doing so, the design combines urban density with new residential qualities.

Here, too, transformation is not about repurposing an existing building, but about advancing the city through a diverse mix of functions and an architectural approach that brings different aspects of daily life together.

In contrast to the first two examples, the former headquarters of Deutsche Bahn in Frankfurt’s Europaviertel district is being transformed into a flexible business campus under the name Raw. A striking example of Brutalist architecture, the listed complex was designed by Stephan Böhm and completed in 1993. Rather than replacing the distinctive concrete structure with a new development, the project focuses on adapting and reusing the existing building fabric. Through a mix of tenants, contemporary work environments, and shared amenities, the formerly single-use office complex is being given a new lease of life.

A central hall is conceived as a meeting place, while landscaped courtyards and green roof areas provide additional spaces for people to gather and spend time. The Raw project illustrates particularly well the ecological and cultural opportunities that transformation can offer: the embodied carbon and material value already contained within the existing structure can continue to be utilised, while the architecture is adapted to meet new requirements.
Rather than being limited to its original purpose, the building is understood as a resource for the future.

For many architects, one thing is clear: adapting and further developing (existing) buildings must be understood as a key task for the future. Frankfurt, in particular, demonstrates that transformation operates on many different scales, ranging from the reorganisation of entire urban districts and mixed-use high-rise developments to the revitalisation of protected heritage buildings.

In the face of climate change and resource scarcity, it will be crucial to view existing buildings and sites as the starting point for new solutions. Admittedly, not every structure can be meaningfully preserved, and not every conversion project is inherently sustainable. Yet where adaptation and reuse succeed, resources can be conserved, local identity maintained, and new qualities of place created, whether for work, leisure, or living.
For this reason, the architecture of the future will not be judged solely by what it builds anew, but increasingly by what it is able to achieve with the structures and spaces that already exist.