A visit to the urban planners AS+P.
They plan entire cities in the Far and Near East, regions in Germany – and the FRANKFURT WESTSIDE business and industrial park in Griesheim: AS+P is one of the most renowned architecture and urban planning firms in Germany.
Opening of a former chemical park
“It is one of the largest brownfield developments that Frankfurt has implemented in recent years – here we can sustainably transform the existing structure within the city,” says Christian Hübner, the responsible project manager at AS+P about the planned area of the former Griesheim Industrial Park. Brownfield in this case means the reactivation of an area that was home to the chemical industry for over 150 years. After a long time, the isolated quarter is now being made accessible to the public again. Especially in the east, FRANKFURT WESTSIDE borders on a residential quarter, which is why quieter and smaller spaces for offices, studios, ateliers and workshops will be made available there. In total, there will be four thematic axes representing different usage zones: Creativity, Innovation, Technology and Production. The structures will become increasingly larger towards the west, towards the main road: “It can get a bit noisy here,” says Stefan Kornmann. In other words, this is where data centres, logistics halls and manufacturing businesses can settle.
Planning a weaving quarter of the future
Urban planner Lena Weiß recognises great potential in the history of the site in particular. “It was the first real industrial park to be developed in Frankfurt and therefore has a long history with a corresponding building stock. We are also trying to continue to use and integrate this. Public use is then also planned here, for example through events, gastronomies or museums.” AS+P is working on behalf of BEOS AG/Swiss Life Asset Managers on an urban development framework plan for a commercial and industrial site. This is characterised in particular by the planning of high-quality open spaces and an innovative mobility concept that takes cycling and electric mobility into account. In addition, most of the roofs are to be equipped with photovoltaics and the waste heat from the data centres is to be used. Following certification by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB), FRANKFURT WESTSIDE has already achieved platinum status.
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