Continuing RIBA Europe’s mission to promote architecture, support architects and enhance their presence across the continent, we held the fourth event in our Europe event series. This series started in Paris and continued in Milan and Madrid, and then in February 2025 we visited Frankfurt in Germany.
The event offered the 100 attendees a thrilling experience and the chance to connect with numerous individuals from the built environment and creative industry, it featured engaging and inspiring presentations as well as insightful tours covering topics related to architecture, real estate, project management, environment, education and culture.
RIBA Europe had several excellent speakers including:
- Carl Bäckstrand from Architects' Council of Europe (ACE-CAE)
- Dr. Susanne Jaschko from the British Council
- Antje Mertig from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors
- Bernhard Brandstetter from Turner & Townsend
- Ian Shaw from Ian Shaw Architekten
- Juergen Scheins and Dr. Christian Seemann from CBRE
- Erasmus Eller from Eller + Eller Architekten
- Michael Mueller from UNStudio
Day one: A guided tour of FOUR and fun at Omniturm
Michael Mueller took attendees on a tour through the currently biggest construction project in Frankfurt FOUR, where his colleague Josef Troester offered a unique chance to learn some details about this astonishing project.
The futuristic towers FOUR, a sustainable, open, lively, and socially balanced quarter with apartments, high-quality office space, hotels, gastronomy, retail, and a public roof terrace have changed the Frankfurt skyline in the city centre and the banking district and contribute to modern approach of the city in the centre of Germany. The team from UNStudio, a multinational design firm with offices in Amsterdam, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Dubai, and Melbourne, creates buildings that are efficient, effective and adaptive to change considering health, technology and environment.
The first day of the event was rounded up by a cocktail reception organised by CBRE’s Director and leader of the Design Collective Dr. Christian Seemann in the neighbouring building Omniturm, where the attendees enjoyed the amazing 360 degree view over Frankfurt from the 30th level of the building. CBRE, the world's largest integrated real estate services company is renting office spaces on floors 29 to 31 of the high-rise Omniturm containing office, residential and public areas designed by Dr. Christian Seemann. They are a great example of modern, sustainable and flexible workplaces including cafeteria and collaboration areas to enhance employees’ and visitors’ comfort and to force the creation of functional and productive environment, which offers a great place to work.
Day two: Exploring the Ernst May House and behind the scenes at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences
On the second day of the event, the attendees met at the Ernst-May-Haus in the renowned Frankfurt’s Roemerstadt for a guided tour through the building and the settlement to explore the ideas of the New Frankfurt housing concept, one of the most important building programmes of the Weimar Republic.
Ernst May was the head of the settlements for Frankfurt between 1925 to 1930. In that time, and as part of the program, approximately 15,000 residences were built with the participation of renowned architects such as Walter Gropius working on ideas of affordable residences and promoting a life in air, light and open space. The attendees were also able to see the famous Frankfurt Kitchen, a revolutionary development in domestic architecture and a forerunner of modern fitted kitchens designed in 1926 by the Austrian architect Margarete Schuette-Lihotzky.
After the exiting visit at Ernst May House, the group moved to the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, where the students of architecture under guidance of Tatjana Vautz, professor for architectural and structural design offered the visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the university, showcasing its progressive programs, exceptional facilities dedicated to delivering high-quality education and inspirational ideas for progressive forms of education for future architects and engineers.
The Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences FRA UAS with more than 70 faculties and 15.000 students, emphasises the international orientation of education and their plans for cooperations with public and private institutions across the globe. In the modern auditorium of the university’s Architectural Faculty, Astrid Wuttke rounded up the topic of the New Frankfurt movement with an insightful presentation prepared together with Florian Maehl.
The event was a success- exceeding the expectations of RIBA Europe and the organisers Becky Halsted, founder of Echo Architects and Waldemar Koehler, RIBA Councillor for Europe, who used their contacts and especially RICS’s Jens Boehnlein to secure a line-up of inspiring speakers and exceptional venues.
Find out more
The recently founded RIBA Europe Chapter continues its plans to promote architecture and support architects by organising events across Europe and giving RIBA members the chance to meet, discuss, build networks and present their work to a wider audience of professionals.
To learn more about RIBA Europe and planned activities please follow us on LinkedIn or contact the Councillor for Europe Waldemar Koehler directly by email waldemar.koehler@riba.org.
You can also find out more about our past event in Paris or learn about the tour held in Milan, both successful RIBA Europe events in this series from 2024.
