Text 8 gkk Design Corporatist Frankfurt Skyscraper

Approval has been given for a conservatively designed twin towers to be located in the heart of Frankfurt's skyscraper district on Neue Mainzer Strasse.

The project comes from the sketchpads of architects GKK and was originally named Kaiserkarree. The project has now been renamed Taunusturm, a rebranding that goes hand in hand with some of the changes that have been made to it as it has progressed through development.

Since it was first proposed in 2008, originally the tower was to stand at a height of 135 metres, this has been bumped up to a slightly more impressive 160 metres and a 60 metre residential tower has also been added across the road from the main tower.

Uniformly box shaped in appearance, the office tower aims to convey a look of sturdiness and stability which is probably apt for the district and the current financial climate unless you're not a Scottish bank in which case the Leaning Tower of Piza might be more fitting.

Constructed from steel and glazing the tower rises from ground level to a flat peak minus any sort of decoration, spire, helipad or anything else to add a bit of interest. The facades are glazed with a grid work of steel, making long, thin windows rather than the fully glazed curtain wall popular in many designs these days.

When complete the tower will provide premium office space with a restaurant which will be open to the public occupying the top floor, offering views of the city below. The ground floor will contain shopping spaces to go and spend hard earned wages in along with the odd café and restaurant in.

The residential part of the project sports a similar look to the taller tower, with the addition of a sky garden on its roof. it will house 54 apartments along with more shopping space on its ground floor, which is always good to see.

At present there are no construction details but with approval given it should be long before this tower comes to fruition, providing no one changes their minds again.

Text 9 Milan Convention Centre Offers Glacial Roof

Plans are afoot in Milan to build what will be Europe's largest ever indoor convention centre, a building that will be draped in a massive glazed roof with a difference.

The internal figures for the plans are massive and entail 18,000 seats, an additional 1,500 seat auditorium that creates a semi circular metallic bulge to one corner thats supported by a series of struts, 73 meeting and hospitality rooms, and 54,000 square meters of exhibition space. Providing shelter come rain or shine is one end the roof that protrudes outwards creating a tail that acts as a canopy for a long twisting walkway which serves as one of the entrance routes for those using the complex.

Despite the scale of the scheme the real talking point is set to be the roof that transforms the traditional shed-like exhibition centre into something a bit more special.

Undulating contours of glass blanket the roof creating a crystalline glacial landscape that will create an ever-changing myriad of reflections, sparkling points of light, and shadows as the sun crosses the sky from day to day. The similarities with a glacier should become much stronger at night as the general illumination of the glass covering will give it a truly ice-like appearance.

Moving past the aesthetics of the roof, it's a complex structure that has been designed to consist of 8000 metres of thin aluminium, glass and LED lights that will emit 1 watt per metre creating a truly ambient light. These slivers of the roof can each have amorphous silicon photovoltaics integrated into them which with a power output of 25 watts per metre can light it employing only 5% of the total space on offer.

The project is being developed by Fondazione Fiera Milano who have put a 40 million euro budget on the scheme which should be enough to get it going.