Façade of the former Kaufhof building is partially opened up

There has been much speculation about the condition of the façade beneath the cladding on the former Kaufhof building - now the facts are to be revealed. A partial opening of the façade is planned for Wednesday, November 27, during which a renowned expert, Dr. Anette Ritter-Höll, geologist and member of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and CEO of RITTER Stone GmbH, will examine the sandstone.

If it rains cats and dogs or strong gusts of wind are expected on this day, the appointment may be canceled.

The former department store in the pedestrian zone on Frankfurter Straße is currently being transformed into a learning, cultural and meeting center, including an enlarged, contemporary city library, on behalf of Station Mitte GmbH, a subsidiary of GBO Gemeinnützige Baugesellschaft mbH Offenbach from Stadtwerke Offenbach's Geschäftsfeld Immobilien. In the course of the widely publicized conversion, historical photos were published on social media showing the oldest part of the building, which dates back to 1907, without aluminium cladding and with a very decorative and representative sandstone façade.

Understandably, many voices were immediately raised in favor of preserving or restoring the original appearance of the building. However, how much of the façade has been preserved and what condition it is in is now to be clarified. What is certain is that it does not cover the entire surface of the house, which consists of several building sections, and that it was demolished at the end of the 1940s on the top floor along with the entire building section.

On November 27, Dr. Ritter-Höll and the project manager of OPG Offenbacher Projektentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, who is responsible for the conversion of the building, will take a look at the old building cladding. To this end, a row of the aluminum panels installed at the end of the 1960s will be removed vertically. The expert will be driven to the exposed area with a pallet truck and can then take a close-up look at the sandstone. Among other things, she will assess what type of sandstone was used here and how badly the original façade was damaged by the attachment of metal anchors for the aluminum panels of the later Kaufhof façades. Photographic documentation will also be produced during the investigation.

Dr. Anette Ritter-Höll will write an expert report after the investigation, on the basis of which further measures can then be decided. Whether and to what extent renovation and architectural planning can be carried out will also be a question of cost and budget.

The area in front of the former department store will be closed to passers-by for the one-day inspection. It is forbidden to remain within the cordoned-off area, as both aluminum panels and sandstone chunks could fall down.