The International High-Rise Award 2004 has been bestowed on the “de Hoftoren” building, the head office of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Art and Science in The Hague. The 144m-high building went turn-key in September 2003 and was designed by the London branch of the US architectural office Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (International) PA. The developer was ING Vastgoed, owner of the Rijksgebouwendienst, both based in The Hague.

The High-Rise Award, generously supported by the DekaBank as its patron and held by the City of Frankfurt/Main, has been bestowed for the first time this year and is worth € 50,000. The prize-giving ceremony will take place on June 11, 2004 in Frankfurt’s Paulskirche, where it will be awarded by Lady Mayoress Petra Roth.

In total, 38 entries were submitted, from architects in 14 different countries in Europe, Asia, the United States and South America. They were judged by an international jury that convened on April 1, 2004 in Frankfurt. The jury was chaired by Prof. Dr. Joerg Schlaich (engineer/Stuttgart) and composed of Dominique Perrault (architect/Paris), Prof. Willi Alda (DekaBank), Dr. Hans-Bernhard Nordhoff (Cultural Officer of the City of Frankfurt) as well as Prof. Dr. Ingeborg Flagge (Director of Deutsches Architektur Museum, Frankfurt), who stepped in at short notice for Sir Nicholas Grimshaw (architect/London), who had been taken ill. The International High-Rise Award goes jointly to the architects and the developer. The architect receives the financial prize, the client a sculpture.

The winning building won the award because of the public scale and importance of the project and the architectural solution found for it. The jury explained its decision by saying: “The ensemble forms a ‘landmark’ and is not a standalone block, but instead a significant symbol in its specific urban context. The architecture flows and is in constant flux. It is a ‘great’ building in both senses, and its refined design forms one of the most elegant public buildings in the city.“

The jury also made three commendations, which do not win prizes: the 117m-high Kyobo Tower in Seoul, a double office tower created by Swiss architect Mario Botta, and the Cove Apartments in Sydney, a 160m-high residential high-rise designed by Australian architect Harry Seidler & Associates. A further jury commendation went to the 180m-high office tower at 30 St. Mary Axe in London, the brainchild of British architects Foster and Partners. German architects submitted eight different projects, ranging from Shanghai to Frankfurt/Main. Seven of the entries are located in Germany and were built by architects from different countries.

Deutsches Architektur Museum in Frankfurt, on whose initiative the competition was established and which organized it, will be presenting the winning entries and models– the show will run from June 12 thru’ July 11, 2004. In the framework of the cooperation agreement signed by the City of Frankfurt and DekaBank, which initially runs until 2008, the International High-Rise Award will be bestowed every two years for a building that is at least 100m high and stands out for its special aesthetic appeal, trailblazing design, integration into the urban setting, as well as innovative technology and cost-effectiveness. Any building entered must have gone turn-key in the last 18 months prior to submission.

“High-rises in our city are a normal part of urban life,” suggests Frankfurt’s Lady Mayoress Petra Roth by way of explaining the City’s commitment to the Award. “A few years back, people were still objecting to them, whereas today they are fully accepted. They testify to the change in urban perception, to the change in life styles, and have become an essential part Frankfurt’s urban identity. In fact, they have long since become Frankfurt’s hallmark. And we receive international praise for the architectural quality of our high-rises – which is why the International High-Rise Award fits so naturally into the world of Frankfurt."

"Bestowing this prize is an international premiere,” states Axel Weber, CEO of DekaBank. "Our commitment to this competition in Frankfurt sits well with our concept of promoting the arts and culture. Moreover, there is a natural link here to one of the Bank’s core business fields, namely real-estate-based asset management, an area in which we are one of the major international investors. It seemed only natural in this context that we enthusiastically welcomed the idea of the High-Rise Award and have since become so dedicated to it.“ DekaBank is headquartered in Frankfurt; it boasts a balance sheet total in excess of € 100 billion and assets under management totaling approx. € 140 billion, making it one of the leading financial service providers in Germany. In their investment funds, Deka Immobilien and WestInvest subsidiaries together manage a volume of more than € 25 billion world-wide – invested in some 470 properties in 17 different countries. With a market share of 21.7 percent, Deka Immobilien is the largest provider of open-end real-estate funds in Germany. The cultural commitment of DekaBank, the central fund management arm of the German savings bank group, has a supra-regional thrust. The commitment, under the conceptual motto of "Enabling Opportunities”, gives rise to long-standing partnerships with renowned cultural institutions in the fields of art, architecture, music and literature.

The International High-Rise Award 2004 Prize Winner

Headquarters of the Ministry of Education, Art and Science by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PA, London

The jury was very impressed by the public scale and importance of this project and its architecture. The ensemble represents a landmark and is nonetheless not a standalone building but a significant symbol in the urban landscape. Its architecture flows and is in constant flux. It opens out on to the downtown surroundings via a garden courtyard.

The offices are located on the façade, in full public view. The building is characterized by its vibrant, spacious architecture with a clearly defined façade that is in time and in touch with the edifice’s various functions. This is a “great” building in every sense of the word. Its ingenious design produces one of the city’s most elegant public buildings.

In comparison with conservative structures, the flowing shape of the building and its façade is lavish. It is evidently flexible as regards use. The perforated façade provides all the prerequisites for ongoing energetic business operations. A building that combines exclusivity with an efficient use of space at an appropriate price.

Commendation

Kyobo Tower in Seoul

Mario Botta’s Kyobo Tower, located alongside one of Seoul’s main axes, introduces a new sense of urban life to the city. Above a large gate the building opens up like a red clinker fortress; indeed the geometric and symmetrical form of the monumental building tower up over the entrance arcade. This impressive form sets the tone of the ensemble’s two towers. A rational approach manifests itself in the way the interior is designed, which is highly suitable for use as office space. Overall it forms an impressive, solid ensemble and is an orderly counterpart to Seoul’s chaotic city structure.

The construction’s conservative design – a steel concrete core with a steel skeleton - and the strictly orthogonal, large-scale ground plans mean that it can be put to very efficient use and the surface area of the floors be divided up in any number of ways. This building is economic in terms of structure and operation.

Commendation

Office high-rise, 30 St. Mary Axe, London

This building created by Lord Norman Foster is an unexpected feature in London’s old district and creates a sort of urban hallmark that has changed the city’s silhouette. The architectural interplay of curved metal, glass and various colors creates a dynamic edifice. The interior is arranged such that it opens outwards via a triangular structure comparable with a metal network. The tower’s circular footprint ensures that there is no severity in the relationship between the structure and the surrounding public space. The circular ground plan facilitates rather than obstructs a view of the surroundings. The building blends in smoothly with the angular face of the historic City of London.

The unusual shape of the building is intrinsically logical: as tubes, the triangular mesh contributes structure has a load-bearing function. Though from an ecological point of view an all-glass building is not ideal. Changing surface areas on the various floors may promote flexible usage, but also restricts the commercial return.

Commendation

Cove Apartments in Sydney

Harry Seidler’s residential high-rise consists of two sections, one at the foot of the building, which is integrated into the city as it stands, and the other in the tower’s shaft, which creates a kind of vertical city. This choice of layout and configuration enables communal facilities such as the lobby, the swimming pool and other public areas to be located in the foot. They take their cue from the street, whereas the apartments afford a breath-taking view out of the harbor. The commendation serves to emphasize the importance the jury places on a residential high-rise of such a superior quality: it is truly a model for the urban development of tomorrow.

For further information:

Irene M. Corvacho Del Toro, Deutsches Architektur Museum
Tel.: +49-69-212-31076

For DekaBank’s support for culture and sciences:
Gabriele Mielcke, gm kommunikation,
Tel.: +49-69-9050-2840