Romeo & Julia, Office complex in Westend, Frankfurt, Germany.
Romeo & Julia is a twin-tower office complex at Ulmenstraße 37–39, corner of Kettenhofweg, in Frankfurt's Westend. The two towers, one smaller and one larger, rise 66.7 metres over 18 floors and are joined by a shared base. Architect Max Dudler gave the building a metal-glass double facade modelled on the Chicago School.
Built in 1971/72 as the Bubis-Türme for developer Ignatz Bubis, the towers were designed by architect Richard Heil and rise 66.7 metres over 18 storeys. They were the first high-rise realised under the Fünffingerplan, which planned towers along five axes including Kettenhofweg. Protests of the Frankfurt Häuserkampf stopped further construction, leaving this building as the end of high-rise development on Kettenhofweg. After Bubis's death, banks forced a 2004 auction; Astroterra bought it in 2005 for about 20.2 million euros, and IFM Immobilien AG acquired it in 2006 and carried out a core renovation.
The name Romeo & Julia comes from the two office towers, one smaller and one larger, joined by a shared base. The building was erected in 1971/72 at the start of Frankfurt's Häuserkampf, the housing struggle whose protests stopped the Fünffingerplan from being carried further along the Kettenhofweg.
The two towers share a common base at the corner of Ulmenstraße and Kettenhofweg, with the smaller tower beside the taller one. The building stands at the end of the Kettenhofweg high-rise line, so the towers are seen from the street rather than from a forecourt. The metal-glass double facade is visible from outside at street level.
The two towers are unequal in height and joined by a shared base, which is why the complex is named Romeo & Julia. The Swiss architect Max Dudler designed the renovation, drawing on the Chicago School and adding a metal-and-glass double facade. In 2010 the project was nominated for the MIPIM Award in the Refurbished Office Buildings category.
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