MC's solutions drive Frankfurt's FOUR Megaproject

The FOUR megaproject is a unique high-rise quarter, built on a 16,200 m² site on the corner of Junghofstrasse and Große Gallusstrasse near the Roßmarkt in the heart of Frankfurt's city centre. Based on a design by Amsterdam-based architecture firm UNStudio, four high-rise buildings up to 233 metres high with around 213,000 square metres of floor space change the silhouette of the city with their pioneering architecture. They were built on a large underground car park. In the process, 600 flats, high-quality office space and hotels have been created, while restaurants, retail outlets, city squares, a public roof terrace and green islands will enliven the neighbourhood in future. Up to 1,000 people will live and around 4,000 employees will work in this innovative and sustainable neighbourhood. The design of the buildings and their integration into the urban environment make FOUR a significant urban development project that has changed Frankfurt's skyline.

The challenge of lid construction at FOUR megaproject in Frankfurt

After the former Deutsche Bank buildings on the site were largely demolished, construction work began in 2019. The project faced several challenges, including the use of a "top-down" construction method where a ground-level slab was poured as a future ceiling before the lower floors were built. This method required precise planning and execution. The main contractor, GP-Con GmbH from Frankfurt, relied on a wide range of construction chemicals from MC to meet these challenges. A key focus was the use of the special resin MC-DUR TopSpeed, which dries extremely quickly even under damp and cold weather conditions, ensuring rapid walkability and minimizing downtime, thus optimizing construction progress.

MC-DUR TopSpeed as a separating layer

In detail, a blinding  layer of approx. 15 cm is first concreted and levelled. The difficulty now lied in the fact that a separating layer was required between the blinding  layer and the subsequent ceiling. There are various ways of creating this separating layer, either with a very smooth wooden substructure, a PVC covering or similar, but the choice fell on MC-DUR TopSpeed. The special resin dried extremely quickly, even in damp and cold weather conditions, and ensured that it could be walked on just as quickly, minimising downtime and maximising construction progress. Later, when the floor had been excavated, the blinding  layer could be removed from below with an excavator.