A thoroughly fascinating building, the MyZeil Shopping Mall designed by Studio Fuksas in Frankfurt, Germany in 2009 is an exciting melding of contemporary flair with conventional sensibilities. The building is most strongly characterized by an iconic glazed facade of facets which seem to flow across the form.
Conceived as a river flowing across and into the ground it rests upon, this feature is not merely for those viewing the building from its exterior- the character of this bold move fills the interior space in both bounding and interactive roles.
photography by © Karsten Monnerjahn
A ‘vortex’ of glass and steel reaches from an indent in the facade to the mall’s interior, creating interplay between building and inhabitant.
The mall shows two vastly different faces to two different aspects of the city which is its host. On the one side, is the Zeil- the main shopping boulevard in the heart of Frankfurt; on the other, the Thurn and Taxis Palace.
To the Zeil, the mall shows its modern, sleek, and flowing face; to the Palace, a much more formal and constrained appearance.
photography by © Karsten Monnerjahn
