ASTOC - Architects and Planners

D-Cologne Office and Commercial Building Friesenplatz

It is a misunderstanding that “sustainability” is a new concept and that it necessarily has to do with technical gadgetry: nothing is more sustainable than dense, solid, urban and mixed-use buildings whose floor plans are open and flexible to allow for the most diverse uses spread over many decades. The residential and office building at Cologne’s Friesenplatz is just such a building: even decades after its construction, it provides suitable spaces for new requirements, as ASTOC’s conversion has shown. The Friesenplatz square is located at the Cologne Rings. Today, the square is a lively urban space with shops and restaurants and serves as entry point to the popular Belgian Quarter.

The structure of the office building, already erected in parts at the beginning of the twentieth century and belonging to the Rheinland insurance company today, turned out to have a fundamentally solid structure. In order to bring more light into the building and include a courtyard in the densely packed square inside, parts of the wings were demolished with the result that additional, stacked terrace space could be added. To make up for lost area, a penthouse level was added on top. Today, the building offers all the amenities of vibrant urban life: twenty-two apartments and lofts, as well as shops and offices.

An orientation system was developed to aid visitors find their way through the building. It begins right at the facade facing the square and is based on Roman numerals. The building has the number “Friesen 16”. Crosses (X), arrows (V), and lines (I) make up the graphic elements for a comprehensive signage system with a logo and a guiding system as well as a distinctive pattern for the design of the main and side entrances.

The front section facing Friesenplatz was extended to accommodate a new two-storied roof level with offices and a gallery on top. In the wings facing the courtyard, exclusive duplex apartments, some of them offering magnificent views of the city and of Cologne Cathedral located further east, have been built. The upper floors house offices in the part that faces the Friesenplatz square, while the apartments are located on the interior sides. Parking in this well-connected inner city location was made possible by the inclusion of a fully automated parking system in a part of the de-cored building. The apartments and the parking facility are accessed via the inside courtyard, while the offices are reached via the main entrance located on Friesenplatz. Both access routes meet along another path inside.

In order to make the apartments in the rear-facing courtyards even more attractive, the buildings were set and stacked back, creating private terraces of varying heights and representing a kind of “urban acupuncture.” How attractive such urban courtyards can become was impressively demonstrated by the renaissance of the Hackeschen Höfe in Berlin. The building at Friesenplatz has shown how a mixed-use building can remain ecologically and economically “sustainable,” becoming a microcosm of the city over many decades. It represents a successful contribution to the versatility of inner-city architecture.

Awards:
iF communication design award 2011 (for the Signage system)

Signage: Bodo Wirtz ’grafik, Cologne
Photographer: Christa Lachenmaier, Cologne