The Messeturm, or Trade Fair Tower, is a 63-storey, skyscraper in the
Westend-Süd district of
Frankfurt, Germany. It is
the second tallest building in Frankfurt,
the second tallest building in Germany and the
third tallest building in the European Union. It was
the tallest building in Europe from its completion in 1991 until 1997 when it was surpassed by the
Commerzbank Tower, which is also located in Frankfurt.
The Messeturm is located near the
Frankfurt Trade Fair grounds.
Helmut Jahn designed the Messeturm in a
postmodern architectural style. It is regarded as one of the design classics among European skyscrapers. Despite its name, the Messeturm is not used for trade fair exhibitions but as an office building. It is one of the few buildings in Germany with their own
postal code (60308), the others being
Opernturm, another Frankfurt skyscraper, and the summit station on
Zugspitze.
Design
The Messeturm is similar in design to towers by other architects including the
Bank of America Plaza in
Atlanta, Georgia and
Key Tower (1991) in
Cleveland, Ohio. Frankfurters often call it ''Bleistift'' ("pencil") due to its shape. The construction of the building's foundation set a world record for the longest continuous concrete pour. Ninety trucks poured concrete for 78 hours into the deep foundation. Its ground floor area is just , and features a pyramid at the top.
The tower uses numerous geometric shapes in its design such as the square footprint which is the main shape used throughout the tower. It then rises to a cylindrical shape which finally completes in a pyramid.
There are 900 parking places in a public parking garage and a direct connection to the subway.
In popular culture
*
SimCity series
** MesseTurm appears under the name ''Hogan Wallace and White Insurance'' as a
vanilla stage 8 Euro-Contemporary building set in ''
SimCity 4'' (Deluxe or with Rush Hour).
** There is a building that has a similar appearance to the Messeturm in ''
SimCity 3000''.
Gallery
File:Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage 2, Frankfurt.jpg, The inner city ring with Messeturm in the background
File:Sunset-maintower-2011-ffm-072-b.jpg, Messeturm at sunset
File:Frankfurt am Main Messeturm bei Nacht.jpg, Messeturm at night
File:Messeturm from street level.jpg, Messeturm from street level
File:Messeturm-Frankfurt.jpg, Messeturm from street level
See also
*
List of tallest buildings in Frankfurt
*
List of tallest buildings in Germany
*
List of tallest buildings in the European Union
*
List of tallest buildings in Europe
References
External links
MesseTurm at SKYLINE ATLASMesseTurm at PhorioMesseTurm Paper Model
{{Authority control
Modernist architecture in Germany
Office buildings completed in 1991
Skyscrapers in Frankfurt
1991 establishments in Germany
Helmut Jahn buildings
Skyscraper office buildings in Germany
Art Deco skyscrapers