Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has released designs for a unique mixed-use tower in the heart of Frankfurt, Germany’s, downtown financial district.

The almost-700,000-square-foot structure, which will house public areas, office space, and residential units, makes a striking impression on the streetscape by visually defining its three different uses via shifting floor plates. These shifts designate the changes in use and are oriented to capture the best views and space for each section’s specific function.

Metzler Tower

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Renderings of BIG's Metzler Tower in Frankfurt, Germany.

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The tower’s public spaces are positioned on the first few floors, where the structure of the levels shifts back and forth to create terraces and canopies for social use. The middle section of the tower houses residential units and is designed with floor plates that slide out in a spiraling manner, creating terraces and urban views for the inhabitants. The uppermost section of the building confines office spaces to a traditional, rectangular-shaped stacked tower, aligning with the original structure at the base of the building.

The Copenhagen- and New York–based firm’s proposal was selected as the winner of an international competition commissioned by New York developer Tishman Speyer to design a 600-foot, mixed-use high-rise in the financial district of downtown Frankfurt.

BIG has broken ground on the project, which is being built in collaboration with Austrian-based structural engineering firm Bollinger + Grohmann, and hopes to have the building completed by 2018.