Plärrerhochhaus

The Plärrerhochhaus, officially the commercial and workshop building of the Städtische Werke Nürnberg (Nuremberg municipal utilities), is a striking example of 1950s architecture and has been a protected landmark since 1988. It stands in the Gostenhof district at the corner of Rothenburger Straße and the southern end of Fürther Straße, right at the Plärrer subway station. Serving as the administrative headquarters of the municipal utilities, the complex is now home to around 1,100 employees. When it opened, the building was the tallest in Bavaria at 56 meters (184 feet) and was deliberately conceived as a distinctly period-style urban counterpoint to the heavily destroyed Old Town. The architect Wilhelm Schlegtendal designed it as an "optical signal" of the city's reconstruction, an idea underscored by a tall light mast.

The architecture follows a reinforced-concrete skeleton construction. The 15-story main building tapers slightly from the fifth floor up to look slimmer, and it is slightly twisted so that it appears more sculptural from a distance. The complex consists of the high-rise, a long, flat-roofed connecting wing, and a western section with a lecture hall and workshops. Inside, practicality is combined with more formal, representative elements. The lobby stands out with its two-story glass facade, a delicate railing, and a goldfish pond. Despite later alterations, such as the installation of electronic access gates, many typical 1950s features have been preserved.

Inside the building, you can admire a variety of artworks. These include mosaics made of Solnhofen limestone slabs with African motifs, a sgraffito based on a view from the Schedel World Chronicle, and a tapestry by Otto Michael Schmitt on the 14th floor showing the high-rise and other Nuremberg buildings amid the four elements. A glass bridge connects to the N-ERGIE-Centrum, built in 2000, where working exhibits illustrate the products electricity, natural gas, district heating, drinking water, and telecommunications. The roof also once housed a panoramic camera for television broadcasts. The building has been undergoing renovation and modernization since 2016.