There can be no doubting that FOUR Frankfurt is currently one of the most exciting high-rise building and urban district developments in Germany. Over the next few years, an extraordinary ensemble of high-rise buildings will be erected on land covering 215,000 sqm, which used to be occupied by Deutsche Bank directly at the heart of the financial metropolis. One of the buildings will tower to a height of 228 metres (748 ft), making it the third-tallest high-rise building in Germany.

For Groß & Partner, the project development agency that acquired the plot in 2015, sustainability is of central importance in redeveloping the district. Indeed, this was recently documented at the DGNB’s 10th anniversary celebrations on 28 June in Berlin. At the event, the contract for DGNB precertification was signed for the project.

DGNB President Prof Alexander Rudolphi pictured with DGNB CEO Dr Christine Lemaitre and Peter Matteo (Groß & Partner) at the signing of the contract

FOUR Frankfurt will also be something of a pilot project for the DGNB, as it will be the first development to fall under the Vertical Cities scheme. The aim of Vertical Cities is to take the specific nature of densely packed high-rise buildings into account. For the first time, this scheme pulls together criteria relating to urban district certification and building certification under a common umbrella. It thus offers certification for the entire development, but also for the individual buildings.

Our aim for the months and years to come is to provide support and share detailed information on the development, which is being planned by the leading architectural firm UNStudio and entails a number of special aspects, including the work being carried out by a district advisory board, which was installed specially for the development.

To get the ball rolling, we spoke to the architect Ben van Berkel, who told us more about the things that make FOUR Frankfurt so special.

The FOUR Frankfurt project also featured at the Expo Real trade fair in Munich. At the trade fair, Peter Matteo, one of the directors at Groß & Partner, and Ben van Berkel took part in a panel discussion under the title ‘Global benchmark for sustainability: latest developments in DGNB certification’.