The impressive main entrance of the Lufthansa Aviation Center, designed by Christoph Ingenhoven, showcasing a contemporary design that emphasizes openness and accessibility.
The impressive main entrance of the Lufthansa Aviation Center, designed by Christoph Ingenhoven, showcasing a contemporary design that emphasizes openness and accessibility.
Transparency, Communication and Cosmopolitanism
With its transparent design, the Lufthansa head office reflects the open-mindedness and global outlook of one of Germany's most renowned companies. Christoph Ingenhoven's design has garnered numerous awards, including the 2008 RIBA award, the International Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, and an EU GreenBuilding partnership certificate. This solution by the Düsseldorf-based architectural firm harmonizes ecological construction with elegant office design, befitting Lufthansa's stature.
The project’s primary challenge was to create a high-quality, communicative office environment while insulating it from its busy surroundings. Proximity to Frankfurt Airport, Lufthansa's key transport hub, offers excellent connectivity but also significant noise and pollution. The architects responded with a 180-meter-long, 90-meter-wide building resembling a double-sided comb with ten "teeth," where gardens between the "teeth" shield the offices from noise. These offices and gardens are topped with sleek concrete and glass roofs.
Each of the 1,850 office workspaces enjoys views of landscaped gardens and natural ventilation. The garden designs represent typical landscapes from five continents, symbolizing Lufthansa's global reach—from a white sandy beach to the Australian outback and a Japanese Zen garden. Accessible to staff for relaxation or small meetings, these gardens also act as heat and sound buffers, enhancing the microclimate.
The building consists of seven floors above ground and four below. Underground floors house plant rooms and parking garages, while offices occupy the above-ground floors. The design emphasizes bright, fully glazed offices and atriums between office tracts to foster a pleasant working environment and support communication. Modular office units can be adapted as needed, with all offices facing the atriums.
A central concourse formed by the five- or six-story office wings offers spaces for informal encounters and meetings. To meet modern office communication needs, there are 36 open meeting rooms, seven large conference facilities, and smaller meeting areas within the offices. Each floor includes three dedicated meeting points for alternative working environments and informal communication. The flexible office structure, lacking hierarchical order and easily reversible, promotes inspiring and team-oriented working conditions.
The ecological concept of the building supports a healthy working environment. Wooden windows and floors create a warm atmosphere, and the absence of suspended ceilings allows the use of concrete decks to activate thermal mass. A sophisticated control system addresses any air-conditioning malfunctions.
Located at one of Europe’s most efficient transport intersections, the new Lufthansa headquarters is distinguished by its simplicity, clarity, and uniqueness.
Data
Competition 1999, 1st Prize
Construction Start 2002
Completion 2006
Client Deutsche Lufthansa
GFA 124.800 m²
Green Building LEED Gold, Green Building Partner of the European Union 2008
Credits
Project management
AYH Homola
Structural design
Werner Sobek
Facade design
DS-Plan
Fire protection
BGS, BPK Brandschutz Planung Klingsch
Pabst and Partner
Landscape design
WKM Weber Klein Maas
Lighting design
Tropp Lighting Design
Mechanical services installations
HL-Technik, Brendel Ingenieure, Ebert Ingenieure
Energy concept
Baumgartner & Partner
Facilities management
Schuster business consultancy
Expert soil report
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katzenbach
Survey
Flughafen Frankfurt Main
Building physics
DS-Plan, Institut für Bauphysik Horst Grün
Security design
K.F. Rotzler & Partner
Industrial aerodynamics
IFI Institut für Industrieaerodynamik
Expert radar report
EADS Deutschland
Office design
Quickborner Team
Kitchen design
Niedermeyer & Partner
Vertical access design
Thomas A. Weisse & Partner
Transportation engineering
Durth Roos
Conveyor technology
appsen & Stangier
Artistic consultancy
Max Hollein, Nicolaus Schafhausen, Michael Neff
Awards
2008
RIBA European Award 2008
Hypo Real Estate Prize 2008
Wüstenrot Stiftung Design Award 2008
International Architecture Award 2008
Premio Internazionale Architettura Sostenibile “Fassa Bortolo” 2008
2007
iF communication design award 2007
mfi-Preis Kunst am Bau 2007
