Highlight Towers

Highlight Towers
Highlight Towers
Alternative names	Langenscheidt-Hochhäuser
General information
Status	Completed
Type	Commercial offices
Architectural style	Modernism
Location	Mies-van-der-Rohe-Straße ; Munich, Germany
Coordinates	48°10′36″N 11°35′32″E / 48.17667°N 11.59222°E
Completed	2002 - 2004
Height
Roof	Tower I: 126 m (413 ft); Tower II: 113 m (371 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	Tower I: 33; Tower II: 28
Floor area	73,836 m2 (794,760 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Murphy Jahn
Structural engineer	stahl + verbundbau
Main contractor	Strabag Bau-AG
References

Highlight Towers is a twin tower office skyscraper complex completed in 2004 in Munich, Germany, planned by architects Murphy/Jahn of Chicago. Tower I is 126 m (413 ft) tall with 33 storeys, and Tower II is 113 m (371 ft) tall with 28 storeys, which make them among the highest buildings in the city. The towers are joined by two skyways made of glass and steel. Also in the complex are two low-rise buildings between the twin towers, that serve as a hotel and additional office space. Overall, the facility offers approximately 73,836 m² (794,760 sq ft) of office space.

The towers are slightly shifted in the historic sightline of Odeonsplatz on Ludwigstraße with Victory Gate to the north and form a focal point for visitors coming from the north of the city.

Tenants

The best known tenants of the buildings are the IT and consulting firms Unify and Fujitsu Technology Solutions, as well as IBM.^[6]

Controversy

With construction works finished in the same year as Hochhaus Uptown München, the two towers helped motivate the formation of a citizens' initiative aimed at preventing the development of further structures of this type and size. Leading architects criticized the buildings as "imported imitation architecture" and "faceless yard ware", while local residents expressed concerns related to the skyscrapers destroying the traditional cityscape.^[7]