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| Reopening of Messe Frankfurt’s redesigned North Gate  Messe Frankfurt's North Gate (Tor Nord) is now open to traffic again as of today after the 110-tonne oval roof was recently lifted into position and the accompanying guard house completed. Based on a design by Berlin-based architect Ingo Schrader, who won first prize in an architectural competition to redesign Messe Frankfurt's entrance, the new landmark can be seen well beyond the company's exhibition grounds. The project was completed in three months, cost around €1.2 million and replaces the previous provisional structure with a new guard house.The North Gate is Messe Frankfurt's main entrance and is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The entrance is used by up to 1,700 vehicles every day at peak times, and by an average of some 300,000 vehicles entering the Frankfurt exhibition grounds each year. The North Gate is in a prominent location on a road bridge near the Emser Brücke bridge, above Theodor-Heuss-Allee, the main access road from the Frankfurter Westkreuz interchange to the city centre. Uwe Behm, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt GmbH: "With this remarkable construction we now have a visual highlight on this key thoroughfare which generates attention for Messe Frankfurt beyond its own exhibition grounds. Overall, the new design helps to raise the profile of the exhibition grounds substantially. As well as providing functional improvements for our customers, service partners and employees, the new North Gate is a contemporary architectural statement on Messe Frankfurt's corporate identity." The large oval roof, which measures some 600 square metres and is lit up at night, defines the appearance of the new gate. The oval contains the various functions for access control, such as fixed and mobile barriers and the new guard house. It measures 42 x 18 metres and allows its supporting members to be positioned freely, as they are not part of a fixed grid. Ingo Schrader, the architect behind the new constructions, explains the challenge presented by the project: "This construction offers key advantages given the very limited possibilities associated with building on an existing road bridge". write your comments about the article :: © 2013 Construction News :: home page |