All four upper floors are carried by steel girders in the two underlying basement levels and by deep reinforced concrete beams. Beneath the inner courtyard lies the Sala Grande, an approx. 1200 m² two-storey event hall, which is column-free in design. The pieces of the façade which had not been destroyed were dismantled, numbered, and stored for the reconstruction work. The new facing formwork of historic sandstone together with a structural masonry construction fulfill the high structural-physical demands.
Projects
THURN UND TAXIS PALAIS
RECONSTRUCTION OF A BAROQUE CITY PALACE IN FRANKFURT AM MAIN
The late baroque period Thurn und Taxis Palais, built between 1729-1739 under the commission of the Sun King Ludwig XIV., was badly damaged during WW2. In the course of the large construction project, „Palais Quartier“, the palace was reconstructed at the beginning of the 21st century according to historical example and once again counts as one of the points of interest in Frankfurt am Main. Today, the new Palais is mainly used for events and gastronomy. The ground and first floors were built as reinforced concrete skeletons during the reconstruction work. The construction of both top floors consists of steel frames and, in the dome area, curvilinear rolled-steel sections.
The night-time hoisting of the 24m long composite beam above the event hall in the basement counts as one of my most exciting building site experiences.
| Client | MAB PROJEKTENTWICKLUNGS GMBH |
| Architect | KSP ENGEL UND ZIMMERMANN, FRANKFURT AM MAIN |
| Location | FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY |
| Completion | 2009 |
