Adickesallee | Stefan Forster

In the Nordend district of Frankfurt a new student hall of residence is being built between the police headquarters and the new Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. Providing 332 studio apartments, common rooms, a shop and an underground car park, this large building aligns with the dimensions to its neighbours. Along Adickesallee the U-shaped structure forms the new perimeter to the block, and with its continuation around the corners, it leaves scope for further extension at a later date. Differing in height, the corners – nine storeys on the east, eight on the west – react to the urban context at these two points. On the street side the façade is clad entirely with clinker brick and as such is reminiscent not so much of multiple-apartment blocks, but of a large-scale industrial building. The symmetry of the design is seen not only in the tower-like corners but also in the broad central projecting section. On the side facing into the block, alternately placed balconies respond to the rigour of the main façade.