Keeping a step ahead in the listings

The Hesse State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments has added the Silvertower to its inventory of listed buildings. The listing states: “The high-rise building for the central administration of the Dresdner Bank, completed in 1978, was the tallest building in the Federal Republic until 1991. With its characteristic façade skin of storey-high aluminium panels with rounded edges throughout, it is one of the most striking skyscrapers that dominates the cityscape from afar, and it has lost none of its original radiance to this day. The bright silver colour and striking sculptural quality give the building a timelessly modern appearance that is unique in Frankfurt.”

However, the fact that today the tower still boasts the same façade as it had when it was built, with its original aluminium panels, is not thanks to the new preservation order, but to schneider+schumacher: Already 15 years ago we ensured, in the way we planned the renovation work, that the unique character of this remarkable iconic building would be preserved. In the course of this careful revitalisation process – which updated the Silvertower to the latest technical and energy requirements – we demonstrated that preserving its appearance was economically viable, even when using the original building components. In addition to the cultural significance of the building, the valuable commodity of aluminium has been preserved on site through direct recycling in an urban mining process – making it in this respect too, a project way ahead of its time.