Verwaltungsgebäude Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz
A slab-style high-rise modeled on Mies van der Rohe: the listed former KHD headquarters at the Cologne trade fair grounds in Köln-Mülheim.
The building was constructed to bring the administrations of the Deutz engine factory and the Humboldt machine works together under one roof. It is also known as the KHD headquarters, the KHD high-rise, or the Messehochhaus (trade fair tower).
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- High-rise, former administration building of Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz
- Location
- at the Kölnmesse, in the southern part of Cologne's Mülheim district
- Construction
- 1961 to 1964
- Architects
- Helmut Hentrich and Hubert Petschnigg
- Floors
- 13 office floors
- Heritage protection
- listed in the City of Cologne's register of monuments since May 1992 (no. 6484)
- Current use
- tenant is Kölner Messe; the former museum houses a bouldering gym
The former works museum of the KHD high-rise in Cologne, which once housed a collection of engines from the company and its competitors, now contains a bouldering gym.
Things to do here
Architecture in the Style of Mies van der Rohe
The design took its cue from buildings by Mies van der Rohe. The high-rise is conceived as a slab whose office floors are suspended within a load-bearing frame. This frame consists of as many trusses as there are office floors. The building stands free, close to the elevated connecting road between the Zoobrücke and the Köln-Ost motorway interchange, which was built at the same time.
The Building Complex
To the east of the tower stands a closed rectangular building with dark cladding. It was built as a company museum collecting engines of the firm's own design and production as well as those of competitors. On the other side, a transparent casino building once adjoined it, which has since been demolished. By 1999, an extension was added east of the tower on Deutz-Mülheimer Straße, designed as a second, smaller high-rise slab. The tower and the former museum are listed.
From Corporate Headquarters to Trade Fair Tower
In the 1980s and 1990s, Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz gave up several business divisions, and the headquarters was dissolved. A mobile phone provider then used the building. In the mid-1990s it was renovated with heritage conservation concerns taken into account. Since 2005, Kölner Messe has leased the building, while the former company museum now serves climbing enthusiasts as a bouldering gym.
Timeline
- 1961–1964Construction of the administration building by Hentrich and Petschnigg
- Mai 1992Listed in Cologne's heritage register (no. 6484)
- Mitte der 1990erRenovation with regard to heritage conservation
- 1999Extension completed as a second, smaller high-rise slab
- 2005Cologne trade fair takes over the building as tenant
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Sources & links
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-11-08
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