The technical renovation of the exhibition hall, which originally offered over 35,000 square metres of exhibition space, began directly after the end of the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2018. This involves largely gutting the building and replacing its entire electrical system, its ventilation, cooling and heating technology, its sanitary technology and its catering facilities. Due to the large amount of space required by the state-of-the-art building technology, Level 6.3 will be used as a technical control centre and will no longer be available for exhibition space. As a result, the area available for exhibitions in Hall 6 will be reduced by 8,764 square metres to a total of approx. 26,000 square metres.
As well as modernising the building technology and electrical systems, which includes replacing all control cabinets and wiring and switching all lighting strips over to LED, the glass façades on the east and west sides of the hall are being redesigned, including triple glazing. This is necessary because the entire project is to adhere to the KfW 70 standard, which specifies a minimum energy efficiency for buildings. This is based on the German Energy-Saving Ordinance (EnEV) which determines the criteria for the modern, efficient building standard (KfW 100). KfW 70 is only permitted to use 70 percent of this energy.
In recent years, the fire protection measures for the building were already modernised in keeping with legal requirements. At the same time, escalators, goods lifts and roller doors were brought in line with the latest technical standard and the façade of Hall 6 was redesigned using naturally-fired ceramic elements in various shades. As a result of this overarching concept that is in keeping with the materials and colours of its surroundings, it has been possible to create another striking and unique hall on the exhibition grounds. From the north in particular, Hall 6 is now clearly identifiable as a part of Messe Frankfurt.
