Luxury and Usefulness at the Rheinauhafen – The Crane Housesby Annette Romming | 01.05.2011

Crane Houses

Near downtown and yet right by the river is what the Rheinauhafen in Cologne is supposed to turn into the city’s new prestige quarter. Eye-catchers of the new harbor quarter are the crane houses, realized by architects Bothe, Richter and Teherani and completed just recently, located by – and above – the promenade. 

The spectacular buildings are supposed to remind of the former derricks of the old Rheinaufhafen and are considered architectural highlights of the new harbor quarter, also from an urban planning related point of view. It had turned out to be one of the biggest challenges to satisfy the demands of the urban planners by keeping the original style of the city and the harbor – and at the same time creating something totally new with this largest building project in Cologne of the past few years.

Here, the BRT architects don’t seem to fit into the picture at all, their portfolio is stuffed with glass buildings featuring sterile and puristic looks.

However, the architects have managed to combine modern complexity with the plain usefulness of a harbor and to still stand out. The around 70 meters high towers with nearly 16,000 square meters of office area each unfold their dimensions to the fullest only from the tenth floor on – across the Rhine instead of simply going up. 

The riverside promenade does not only lead along the buildings, but right through them, which makes people guess what the view at Cologne cathedral might be like from the 18th floor.  This view is what the employees of Microsoft and Electronic Arts can enjoy, since these are the tenants of the “Kranhaus 1” and Kranhaus PLUS”, both completed in 2008. And not only those, since inside the third building, the “Pandion Vista”, there are now 133 luxury apartments to be rented out to private tenants.

These apartments, awarded a prize at the MIPIM Awards 2009 in Cannes, can be taken a look at by the public through a show apartment.

Further projects from Cologne - Rheinauhafen...