MAB Zeil

The architecturally most interesting part of the shopping and entertainment center in the center of Frankfurt is undoubtedly its amorphous roof, which resembles a landscape full of canyons in its shape. This roof covers the entire complex. The triangular structure of the roof penetrates into the interior of the building, illuminating openings between the floors, creating a funnel of light on the ground floor. In the spaces confined to fluid shapes, interesting views of the outside are offered, as well as internal connections between different levels. Daylight penetrates to the lowest floors, creating a pleasant environment. The completely glazed main facade of the building organically continues into the steel-glass roof, allowing pedestrians a view of the sky through the internal deformed tube. The street level is connected to a small square on the fourth floor by a 45-meter-long rapid escalator. The upper square features a restaurant and provides access to fitness, wellness, and a children's world located above it. The main idea behind the design of the shopping center was to create a vertical city with both physical and visual connections inside the building, an urban shopping street with a new element – verticality.
How to meet the enormous construction program on a relatively small plot on Zeil in downtown Frankfurt? The content itself was already quite diverse. In addition to a large shopping center, the client also requested a large number of office spaces, a four-star hotel with a conference center, a fitness center, and a multiplex cinema. Besides the different character of all these parts of the construction program, they also differ in their ways of supply and opening hours...

Two Levels
For such a complex program that creates its own world, only one basic level cannot suffice! Therefore, we incorporated a second area with public space on the fourth floor into the design. The shopping zone is located between these two levels. On the fourth floor, one can find relaxation functions such as a cinema, sports, and restaurants.

Turning off Zeil and Moving Up
To successfully attract people into the project, the outer shell consists of a flowing shape connecting Zeil with TT (the shopping center) and then continues into FRS (the entertainment part). However, people do not stay on the ground floor. Upon entering deeper into the building, a network of openings opens before them, bringing daylight down and transporting visitors up to the fourth floor. The fourth floor is also an important reference point from a programmatic perspective. By placing attractive leisure activities, the fourth floor has become one of the most important spots in the entire project.

Night and Day
The time difference between the individual parts of the program is also resolved on the fourth floor. An escalator leads directly from the facade on Zeil up to the roof, which is open '24 hours' a day, while the shopping center closes at night.

Formal / Informal
Both sides of the project, one on Zeil and the other on TT, have different natures. Zeil Street is meant for leisure, entertainment, and relaxation. The other side has a more serious face. This is because the entrances to the hotel and offices are located here. The hotel lobby is in the elegantly renovated TT building right next to the art gallery and much more luxurious shops than those at the other end of the shopping center. The entrance lobby is connected to the hotel rooms by elevators. Between them, on the 3rd and 4th floors, is a conference center and sports facilities.
The offices have a representative entrance from Neue Eisenheimerstrasse. In the 27.5-meter-high entrance hall, employees are transported to the fourth floor by escalators. The fourth floor is also a key location for the offices. Here, the paths of employees divide into office towers. The reception of the offices is in a very good spot in connection with the public functions on the roof, people working there, and the public.

Obligation and Own Choice
For this site, we came up with two designs that we named obligation and own choice (Pflicht und Kür). The concept is the same for both designs. The limitations regarding the maximum height of the buildable area in the Pflicht design are much more restricted. We were thus more compelled to place more smaller office towers above the base of the department store. The office towers Kür thus acquired a slender and elegant shape. In a similar spirit, the TT renovation took place, where the representative entrance to the hotel and cultural facilities is located.

FRS
The project formally continues with the FRS part. However, from a programmatic perspective, it is in a completely separate section, where office spaces are arranged around two atriums. On the ground floor, there are shops that ensure a friendly street atmosphere. The glazed roof, which also extends over this part, allows for the creation of attractive outdoor spaces in some places, while in others it can transform into a network of solid metal panels covering the technical installation on the roof.