Curve X marks the completion of a long-vacant site in the center of Düsseldorf, introducing a highly legible office building defined by movement, color, and spatial clarity. Designed by JSWD, the project emerged from a 2018 competition initiated by a Hamburg-based developer seeking a sustainable office building with high-quality interiors. JSWD’s proposal, an x-shaped volume articulated through a bright red façade, was selected for its ability to address a deep and complex plot while contributing a clear architectural identity to the surrounding city block.
OFFICES
Positioned within the perimeter development, the six-story building aligns precisely with the height of its neighboring structures along the street. While it sits flush at both ends, the façade curves inward at its center, creating a sheltered forecourt that marks the main entrance. This subtle deformation of the building line introduces spatial generosity at street level and gives the project its name, turning a regulatory constraint into an architectural gesture.
At ground level, large display windows lend the Curve Offices an open and accessible character, allowing views into shared and commercial functions such as the café. Above, the façade becomes more controlled and rhythmic. Red steel panels and slender pilaster strips are layered in front of continuous window bands, producing a compressed horizontal expression that gains energy through the curvature of the volume. The result is a building that reads as calm and ordered from a distance, yet animated in closer proximity.
From the street edge, the building’s two arms extend into the interior of the block, matching the height of adjacent developments. This configuration allows the remaining outdoor areas, previously dominated by surface parking, to be landscaped and greened. The transformation of the courtyard improves the microclimate and creates a more pleasant shared environment for neighboring offices and residential buildings.
The x-shaped plan organizes circulation efficiently around a central core. Staircases, elevators, sanitary facilities, and ancillary spaces are grouped at the center, freeing the perimeter for flexible office layouts and maximizing access to daylight. This structure supports a wide range of contemporary workspace concepts, from open-plan offices to more compartmentalized arrangements, without sacrificing spatial clarity.
Parking for cars and bicycles is accommodated within a two-story underground garage, supplementing limited courtyard spaces. Sustainability forms a key component of the project’s brief and execution. Curve X is designed to meet the KfW Efficiency House 40 standard and integrates a solar power system. The building is aiming for DGNB Gold certification and has already been pre-certified with WiredScore Gold, reflecting its technical performance and digital connectivity.
Completed in 2024, Curve X demonstrates how a commercial office building can assert a strong architectural presence while responding carefully to its urban context. Through a combination of precise massing, infrastructural clarity, and a distinctive material identity, the project closes a long-standing gap in the city fabric and introduces a confident new workplace into Düsseldorf’s inner city.
