Design: Frankfurt Ramps Up bank-centred projects

-Dezeen magazine

Frankfurt is bidding to woo banks from London by building dozens of new high-rise towers by architects including BIG, UNStudio and Ole Scheeren.

With Brexit threatening London's status as Europe's leading financial centre, Germany's business capital has been promoting itself as a lifestyle destination.

Shiny new towers were being marketed heavily at the Expo Realproperty fair in Munich last month, with agents reportedly claiming that many London-based banks had discreetly snapped up space.

Proposals on show included a state-of the-art office block by BIG, a cluster of four high-rise towers by UNStudio, and a luxury apartment block that Buro Ole Scheeren is creating in a transformed 1970s tower.

With Brexit negotiations stalling, developers are understood to have rushed their projects forward to capitalise on an expected exodus from London.

According to Skyline Atlas, a website tracking Frankfurt's development, there are 19 high-rise buildings under construction in the city, and a further 26 planned.

Frankfurt is working hard to create more lifestyle-driven developments, like UNStudio's "city for all" on the former Deutsche Bank site

Frankfurt lacks the cultural and lifestyle attractions of London as well as continental rivals such as Paris and Amsterdam, but is now working hard to become more appealing to high-spending financial workers.

Markus Frank, a councillor representing Frankfurt at Expo Real, said the city was trying to shake off its dull image by encouraging more lifestyle-driven developments.

"The separation of work and life is a