"Solid and functional, but not ostentatious; contemporary, but not fashionable; reliable, but not boring" - a number of promising attributes were given on the inauguration of a new administrative building for the new state medical association. In the previous two years, the now former headquarters of the building materials dealer Raab-Karcher served as the main setting for the architectural adaptation of the transformation of “the ugly duckling into a swan”. This story ends with a happy ending, of course, because the quarter on Hanauer Landstrasse now functions as an urban planning example for a successful transformation of a commercial wasteland into a modernized, urban district.

The design concepts of the renowned Frankfurt architects Meixner, Schlüter and Wendt pursued their goals of integrating the free-standing, seven-storey office building with a usable area of 5350 m² harmoniously and naturally into the surroundings – while simultaneously giving the building a form of visual independence.

As with the neighboring development in the trendy Frankfurt Ostend, clinker bricks are cast in the main role on the facade of the new State Medical Association - whereby the planners transformed the topic with skill in order to give the administration building an independent identity: “In contrast to red brick, which in the harbour context quickly resembles industrial buildings or lofts, the dark clinker brick from the manufacturer Ströher (“Zeitlos” series, onyxstaub color) deliberately cites a representative brick architecture”, says Floria Schlüter from Meixner Schlüter Wendt, explaining the choice of material used.

The architects achieved the restrained, elegant appearance of the facade by using the attractive contrast effect that results from the interplay of the modern-looking, almost black clinker brick slips and combining it with various expressive window formats and the fine plaster surfaces.

“A fair-faced concrete facade in the entrance area gives the first floor of the State Medical Association an architectural presence that is of high quality, and which is transported to the top floor through the finely-colored, fine-grained plaster surfaces located in the floor slabs. In between these are the five standard floors, which serve as visually calming horizontal bands. Storey-high clinker pillars alternate with the storey-high window areas”, adds Schlüter to the design approach used for the facade.

Thus, the new Hessian State Medical Association and the area that surrounds it prove that “clinker brick as far as the eye can see” does not seem simple-minded at all. Rather, the quarter shows how the variety of colors, surfaces and formats of clinker brick slips is amazing today and that there is huge potential for design in them.