Messeturm
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MesseTurm is a skyscraper located in Frankfurt, Germany. Its name translates as "Fair Tower" in German. It is the second tallest building in Germany and the European Union. Messeturm's ground floor area is just 41 x 41 meters (135 x 135 feet). MesseTurm is directly located in the Frankfurt Trade Fair grounds. Design architect was Helmut Jahn.
The MesseTurm was the tallest building in Europe from its completion in 1990 until 1997, when it was eclipsed by the Commerzbank Tower also in Frankfurt, then in 2003 by the Triumph-Palace in Moscow. Used as an office building, it is 257 meters (843 feet) tall and has 63 floors.
The construction of the building's foundation set a world record for the longest continuous concrete pour. Ninety trucks poured concrete for 78 hours into the 6 meters (20 feet) deep foundation.
The pyramid on the very top of the MesseTurm is what makes it most remarkable among other usual skyscrapers. It is 36.3 meters (119.1 ft) high.
Its design is similar to the Bank of America Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia. Frankfurters often call it "The Pencil" due to its shape.
The tower uses numerous geometric shapes in its design such as the square footprint which is the main shape used throughout the tower. It then rises to a cylindrical shape which finally completes in a pyramid.
It is the only building in Germany with its own postal code (60308). There are 900 parking places in a public parking garage and a direct connection to the subway. The building also appears in the European tileset for the game SimCity 4.
