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EXHIBITION ON COOP HIMMELB(L)AU AND THEIR DESIGN FOR THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK IN FRANKFURT, GERMANY TO OPEN AT AUSTRIAN CULTURAL FORUM NEW YORK

COOP HIMMELB(L)AU: VERTICAL CITY - THE NEW PREMISES OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

November 9, 2006 - February 10, 2007

Austrian Cultural Forum New York opens an exhibition on the acclaimed Vienna-based architectural firm COOP HIMMELB(L)AU and their design for the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany. The show will be on view through February 10, 2007. While providing a general introduction to COOP HIMMELB(L)AU and comparing building designs of the last 30 years in their dimensions and size, the exhibit focuses on COOP HIMMELB(L)AU's design for the new premises of the European Central Bank (ECB).

The exhibition features a huge working model of the ECB towers reflecting the current status of the design, accompanied by detailed plans and sections. Perspectives, renderings, and montages enable the viewer to get a feeling for the relationship between the project and the town. The exhibition documents the development of the project with study models in different scales, various models analyzing the shape and form of the towers, important considerations on the facade, the ventilation system, and other technical aspects, and - of course - the very first sketch by Wolf D. Prix.

The ECB's new premises in Frankfurt's Ostend (East End) is a visible symbol and has the potential to enhance the city's skyline. The design proposal was developed with this deliberate visual interaction with the City of Frankfurt in mind. With its polygonal shape and East-West orientation, the 591-feet-high double-slab tower has a very distinct profile and is highly visible from all key points in the city as well as from the Main River. Its form and presence make it an unprecedented icon in the Frankfurt skyline.

The atrium between the office towers becomes a "vertical city" by interconnecting platforms that can function as plazas, spaces, as transportation and communication links between the towers, similar to those existing in a city. The interchange platforms vertically divide the atrium into three sections, comparable to distinctly different city quarters. These connecting platforms, bridges, ramps, and staircases establish a network between the office towers, shortening the distances between individual office floors and thus forming connected units on one or more levels in both towers. The interchange platforms also promote informal communication among the people working in the building. Fostering and emphasizing the dynamic internal communication culture of the ECB, the design concept creates an unprecedented landmark in the urban context that symbolizes the public dimension of the ECB within Europe and the world.

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