Kranhaus

Brief information

The three Kranhaus high-rise buildings were named not after an owner or an address, but after their shape: they resemble harbor tower cranes. This is especially apt for their location on the Rheinauhafen waterfront in Cologne, where the building's image is directly connected to the former port environment, although the source text speaks only of their resemblance to cranes, not of any former use of the buildings themselves.

The complex was built between 2006 and 2011 in a modernist style. Two of the buildings function as 17-story office centers, while the northern building is residential, with 18 floors and 133 apartments. Therefore, Kranhaus is better understood not as a single skyscraper, but as a series of similarly organized volumes, where a shared silhouette unites different functions.

What to notice first

It is worth comparing the three buildings, which are identical in their main dimensions: each is 61.6 meters high, 70.2 meters long, and 33.75 meters wide. This repetition makes not only the height important, but also the elongated form: the buildings work as a recognizable row rather than as separate towers.

The main visible detail is the silhouette, which resembles a harbor tower crane. The name Kranhaus immediately suggests how to read the form: the mass of the building is connected not with a decorative theme, but with the image of an engineering structure by the water. The uses of the buildings can also be compared: the two southern and central buildings are offices, while the northern one is residential. Despite their external kinship, the complex conceals different modes of use. The MIPIM award in the “Business Centre” category, received in 2009, adds an important contrast: the project was recognized specifically as business architecture, even though one of the three buildings became residential.