Two buildings in Niddastrasse near the main railway station will be leased by the city of Frankfurt in 2016. It is launching an application process for this purpose.

The area is problematic and could be seen as "the back of the main station". Both existing buildings from the 1950s are run-down. Due to the location, the authorities demand a positive influence on the public space, coupled with a high proportion of housing. We are developing an alternative concept together with Nadia Quani and the Beramie association, which is known for its successful gender- and diversity-sensitive advice for migrant women.

The planning sensitively renovates the clumsy facades, using the now listed Bayer House from 1952 in Frankfurt's city center as a model.
The first floors of both buildings "work" together and create synergies with a music and dance school, an education program, a cooking school with a street café and a market.
On the upper floors, apartments for migrant women of all ages are planned, which facilitate the integration of traumatized women with an infrastructure of therapies, fitness, beauty and childcare. Altelier apartments are set up in the adjacent building, which follow an education program.

The applicants were not awarded the contract by the City of Frankfurt. The authorities have committed themselves to permanent housing structures in the station district through cooperative housing. However, the present concept is viewed positively, so that replacement spaces are currently being sought.

Marie-Theres Deutsch, November 2016