Landeshaus Köln

Landeshaus Köln is an administrative building in Deutz featuring a four-wing steel skeleton structure with a freestanding ground floor extending over the riverfront promenade at Kennedy-Ufer. The five-story building is organized around an inner courtyard with staircases positioned at each corner for efficient circulation.

Construction took place between 1956 and 1959 following a design competition that attracted 91 architectural firms, with no first prize awarded. The project marked Cologne's postwar reconstruction phase and represented the city's shift toward modern administrative centers.

The building reflects functionalist design principles with glass and blue-green facade elements that define its modernist character. Its open ground floor design allows visitors and passersby to experience the architecture as an integrated part of the urban landscape.

The building sits directly on Kennedy-Ufer with immediate access to the riverside landscape and is easily reached from the Deutz side. Visitors should note that the structure is heavily glazed and can appear quite bright in sunlight.

The ground floor rests on freestanding columns, allowing unobstructed views through the building toward the Rhine River. This structural solution creates a rare connection between the interior of the structure and the riverside landscape outside.

Location: Deutz

Inception: 1959

Architects: Eckhard Schulze-Fielitz, Ulrich S. von Altenstadt, Ernst von Rudloff

Address: Kennedy-Ufer 2, 50679 Köln

GPS coordinates: 50.93914,6.96962

Latest update: December 14, 2025 18:04