Crane Houses

A new highrise typology has originated with the three “Kranhäuser”, crane-like structures erected in a row in Cologne’s Rheinauhafen, a former riverport, now an urban redevelopment complex along the Rhine. Modelled freely on utopian ‘cloud hangers’ drafted by El Lissitzky in 1924, one is utilised as a residential apartment house, the other two as office buildings. The projecting overhangs form a distinctive silhouette which, in turn, creates a symbolic point of reference to the site: they pick up on the shapes of the historic cranes whose preservation had been decisively supported by agencies for cultural heritage protection. In a sculptural sense, the classic cube is being broken up in the “Kranhäuser”. The greatest volume in the buildings, each of which is merely 30 metres wide, is not attained until beyond the 9th floor and extends to the 16th, the top floor. Alongside the aesthetic value of the air space that originates below, the space displays a practical function, too: it provides room for the public-access promenade that goes right through the buildings. This effectively shifts Cologne closer to the river and closes the gap between the former riverport district and inner city. With their dynamic shapes and through associations with the historic hoisting cranes of yore, the “Kranhäuser” set a prominent signal of a new dawning for architectural involvement in this riverside city while creating a portal towards the water at the same time.