With Mercator One, completed in 2019, Hadi Teherani Architects have created a striking new urban marker for Duisburg. Located across from the central train station, the seven-story office and commercial building defines one of the city’s busiest intersections. Its bold geometry and sculptural skin bring a sense of refinement and movement to the hard edge of downtown.
Address/Directions
Mercator One
Mercatorstraße 1
47051 Duisburg
Directions
“Architecture becomes meaningful when it engages with its context. Mercator One reflects the flow of the city, but it also brings clarity and rhythm to the urban fabric.”
The trapezoidal site, long considered difficult to develop, prompted an architectural response that embraces complexity. The building’s façade is composed of horizontally banded aluminum panels, set at varying angles to create an undulating rhythm across the surface. Depending on light and viewing angle, the façade shifts between solidity and lightness—a dynamic interplay that animates the streetscape.
The building’s long, folded volume is broken up by rhythmically placed window bands and punctuated by recessed corners. Entrances are clearly legible, while the rooftop terrace offers panoramic views of the city. The lower levels house retail and restaurants; offices occupy the upper floors. The building’s orientation and form allow maximum daylight while shielding against excessive solar gain.
Despite its prominent location and sizable massing, Mercator One is calibrated to the pedestrian experience. The articulated façade creates texture and depth at street level. Materials were chosen for both durability and refinement: anodized aluminum for the exterior, natural stone and oak for interior common areas.
The building plays an important role in Duisburg’s urban development strategy. It not only upgrades the station area, but also serves as a hinge between downtown and adjacent neighborhoods. Its expressive form is both sculpture and structure—anchoring the quarter with architectural clarity.
To accompany the precise, contemporary architecture, the design team chose the FSB 1183 model. With its crisp lines and ergonomically angled lever, it echoes the folded language of the façade. Realized in stainless steel and anodized aluminum, the handle offers both visual lightness and tactile precision.
Used throughout the project, the handle reinforces the building’s clear design intent: to create an elegant, efficient, and expressive response to a complex urban site.
