OpernTurm

The OpernTurm is a striking skyscraper in Frankfurt's Westend district, rising opposite the Alte Oper (Old Opera House) at the corner of Bockenheimer Landstrasse and Reuterweg. The 170-meter-tall building, with 42 floors, was designed by architect Christoph Mäckler and serves as the European headquarters of UBS Europe SE. The complex is rounded out by a seven-story podium building on Opernplatz. Thanks to its uniform yellow-beige stone cladding, the tower blends harmoniously in color with the existing buildings around the square. As one of the first office buildings in Europe, it received green building certification under the LEED Gold standard, which points to especially resource-efficient operation.

In the tower's lobby you'll find a remarkable work of art: a 12-meter-tall canvas by New York artist Julian Schnabel, depicting a blood-stained black whale and a stylized white swan. The imagery alludes to the financial terms "white whale" and "black swan." The adjacent Rothschildpark was enlarged as part of the construction project and redesigned in the style of an English garden, with two new entrances connecting the park to Opernplatz. Besides the main bank, the tower houses other international law firms and companies, making it an important economic hub in the city.