  commerzbank tower is a 56-storey,  skyscraper in the innenstadt district of frankfurt, germany. an antenna spire with a signal light on top gives the tower a total height of . it is the tallest building in frankfurt, the tallest building in germany and the  second tallest building in the european union. it had been the tallest building in europe from its completion in 1997 until 2003 when it was surpassed by the triumph-palace in moscow. the commerzbank tower is only two metres taller than the messeturm, which is also located in frankfurt. the messeturm had been the tallest building in europe before the construction of the commerzbank tower. commerzbank tower was designed by foster & partners, with arup and krebs & kiefer (structural engineering), j. roger preston with p&a petterson ahrens (mechanical engineering), schad & hÃ¶lzel (electrical engineering). construction of the building began in 1994 and took three years to complete. the building provides  of office space for the commerzbank headquarters, including winter gardens and natural lighting and air circulation. the building is lighted at night with a yellow lighting scheme that was designed by thomas ende who was allowed to display this sequence as a result of a competition. in its immediate neighbourhood are other skyscrapers including the eurotower (home of the european central bank), the main tower, the silberturm, the japan center and the gallileo, the latter being also owned and used by commerzbank. the area forms frankfurts 
Bankenviertel Norman_Foster_buildings Office_buildings_completed_in_1997 Skyscrapers_between_250_and_299_meters Skyscrapers_in_Frankfurt