First impressions: CENTRAL CROSS at Cologne's Friesenplatz will be chic and green

Hamburg, 24/10/2023 | The modern and sustainable office and commercial building ‘CENTRAL CROSS’ is being built on Friesenplatz in Cologne. The city of Cologne has now granted building permission for the plans submitted by project developers PROXIMUS and Quantum. The project partners have completely redesigned the 1960s high-rise building on the busy Hohenzollernring, which had been vacant for a long time, and have now given the go-ahead for leasing.

The revitalisation of the high-rise building is based on designs by kadawittfeldarchitektur, which emerged from a competition in 2020 and proposed climate-friendly use of the structure instead of demolition. Flexible and sustainable office and retail space is being created on 12 floors covering around 17,000 m².

"Around 70 per cent of the original building fabric will be retained as part of the revitalisation. We are significantly reducing the demand for primary energy through photovoltaics and the use of wastewater for energy generation. We are aiming for a “Gold” certification from the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) for CENTRAL CROSS," says Malte Boness, Managing Director of PROXIMUS DEVELOPMENT GMBH.

"We are delighted that the building permit has now been granted. CENTRAL CROSS is a prime example of how existing structures can be utilised, upgraded and reprogrammed in line with the “from grey to green” concept to transform them into sustainable, future-proof working environments. In terms of carbon footprint, this conversion project is far ahead of any new building," says Kilian Kada, managing director of kadawittfeldarchitektur.

A green inner courtyard and terraces contribute to improving the microclimate, binding fine dust, cooling the environment and promoting biodiversity. At the same time, they serve as outdoor communication areas for employees. As a central component of the mobility concept, a bike park with over 200 bicycle parking spaces will be created, which will be directly connected to the bicycle lane on Friesenwall.

"The redesign will restore a large part of Friesenplatz's quality of life. The ageing high-rise building will be transformed into a modern office building with a predominantly glass double façade and lots of greenery. The current gutting work is nearing completion. The next step will be to demolish a few parts of the building. Among other things, the old façade will be dismantled," says Frank Gerhard Schmidt, CEO of Quantum Immobilien AG.

Completion of CENTRAL CROSS is scheduled for 2026. Further information on the project: www.central-cross.de