The planning companies for the Frankfurt Bridges should be non-profit organisations and reflect all stakeholders in the population and the state in their organisation

Initially, a Concept Company Ltd should be founded, which would draw up a master plan for Frankfurt's bridges with around 35 employees over a period of around four to five years on the basis of the feasibility study by the Altes Neuland Frankfurt Foundation. This comparatively small company acts as the interface to authorities and the city, communicates with the public and commissions all the necessary expert reports and that are required for every large infrastructure project to protect the interests of the socieaty. The result of these expert analyses serve as the basis for the actual Planning Company Ltd. that operates according to official German service phases and fee schedules for architects and engineers (HOAI). It will be founded subsequently to the Concept Company and replaces it in service phases I – III. The expert proven results of the concept planning phase will be included in company statues of the acutal Planning Company Ltd.

The concept phase is carried out by a non-profit „Concept Company Ltd" - the subsequent „Planning Company Ltd“ is the successor company and should also be a non-profit organisation

The master plan of the Concept Company Ltd should be binding for the planning company in accordance with HOAI, as not only B-plans were adopted on its basis, but also distance payment agreements with residents and affected property owners will be concluded, which are only valid if the master plan is the realisation target.

The non-profit status of all units involved in the construction project is intended to create valid trust, which has an extremely efficient effect on cooperation with authorities, public approval and affected property owners

Until the eight development plans are adopted, the Frankfurt Bridge planning organisation „Concept Company Ltd“ must be lean so as not to arouse any covetousness (I)

The master plan becomes part of the planning to be realised - this avoids change costs in the course of all later service phases. And in the run-up to the actual start of the entire project, legally valid commitments have already been obtained from authorities, residents, affected property owners and politicians on the basis of the masterplan, which will significantly increase the efficiency of the construction project.

Until the eight development plans are adopted, the Frankfurt Bridge Concept Company must be lean so as not to arouse any covetousness (I)

Infrastructure projects and major construction projects in Germany often meet with resistance from the population - usually for justified reasons: Either they have harmful aspects for the environment or they affect people in whose immediate vicinity the project will take place. In the case of the Frankfurt Bridges, environmental protection is massively promoted, so that there should be no resistance in this respect:

Unique stepping stone biotopes for animals and plants are created
Of the 2 million square metres of bridge surface, 1 million square metres are green, with a large proportion of protected areas that provide a habitat for countless animal and plant species as wild meadows
The construction of the bridges is exemplary for all future infrastructure projects: Nesting and sheltering opportunities for animals are planned from the outset; excavated material from the construction site is used to fill mounds that act as nature conservation reservoirs (instead of being transported to other regions with high CO2 emissions)
The bridge body consists of various types of eco-concrete for research purposes
The urban energy transition, like the concept of the "water-sensitive city", can be realised in the middle of existing buildings and give neighbouring urban areas the opportunity to become more sustainable and greener.

People who are adversely affected by the bridges, primarily through shading, receive attractive compensation:

Depending on the degree of shading, the bridge company pays the basic rent for up to 5 years or, in the case of condominiums, the instalments or - if the financing has already been repaid - the achievable basic rent is paid for up to 5 years.
Alternatively, rental flats on the bridges or allotment gardens can be offered. In this respect, too, the Frankfurt Bridges are likely to encounter less resistance than conventional construction projects.

Until the eight development plans are adopted, the Frankfurt Bridge planning organisation „Concept Company Ltd“ must be lean so as not to arouse any covetousness (II)

In addition to completely legitimate reasons, however, there are also individual cases where a building project is rejected by neighbouring owners for purely monetary reasons until the developers have made horrendous clearance payments.

In Frankfurt am Main in particular, the demands rise to absurd heights (which no longer have anything to do with the actual impairment) if a lot of money has already been invested in the planning of a construction project and the negotiating power of the disputing neighbour increases accordingly.

This is why the planning company must be kept as lean as possible until the eight development plans have been adopted: If not much money has yet flowed into the project, it is also less bitter if it is dragged out by demanding neighbours. As soon as they realise that money will only flow to the extent of their impairment and that no "profit" can be made from the situation, the willingness to agree to generous, but still reasonable distance payment agreements increases significantly.

A master plan must therefore be drawn up as part of the conceptual planning in such detail that valid plans and offers can be submitted to the owners of flats and buildings along the bridges in order to obtain their informed consent to the construction project - provided they are owners whose private property is affected by the Frankfurt Bridges.

This is intended to prevent costly planning being started with a large planning company without the acceptance of the affected buildings, flat owners and residents having been checked.

The Planning Company Ltd can take over the master plan of the Concept Company Ltd for service phase 1 (basic evaluation) - service phases 2 and 3 are also partly covered by the master plan of the concept planning phase

In the Concept Company Ltd, all subject areas that were also dealt with in the feasibility study of the Stiftung Altes Neuland Frankfurt are represented by teams

All the issues relevant to the design of Frankfurt's bridges must be worked out in detail during the concept planning phase so that all decision-makers (citizens, authorities, residents, politicians, etc.) can be given a very clear and unambiguous idea of the appearance and layout of Frankfurt's bridges and the buildings on them. Furthermore, during the concept planning phase, all issues relevant to expert opinions must be examined (effects on residents, the urban climate, fire protection, traffic under the bridges, etc.).

In the concept planning phase, it makes sense to have an advisory board or advisory team that comes from municipal management practice or has supervised the sovereign requirements at state level - supplemented by representatives of social organisations.

The advisory board of the Concept Company acts more intensively than a conventional advisory board: it functions like a "consulting board" of high-calibre advisors who not only support the managing directors of the Concept Company Ltd with their specialist experience, but also contribute the views of the municipal offices and offices at state level directly at this early stage. As an external planning company, it is difficult or even impossible to enquire about the approvability of innovative concepts with authorities in advance. With the advice of "insiders", the acceptance of ideas and procedures can be better assessed in advance or work can be done directly on making innovative ideas approvable. In addition, advisory board members must also be appointed from social areas such as the Frankfurter Behinderten AG (FBAG) or the tenant protection association. While the overall advisory board should only meet once a quarter with the entire management for a steering committee, advisory boards with related topics should meet once a month for half-day meetings with the respective business units (management and corresponding department employees).

Innovation begins as early as the concept planning phase - in close coordination with the relevant offices and authorities

During the planning phase, the departments of the individual divisions have to coordinate closely with the offices and authorities in the respective working groups, as all aspects of the Frankfurt Bridges are new territory with a research and development character. In addition, many innovations from Germany and Europe are actually to be implemented in the construction of the bridges, which is why the working groups have to co-operate with selected research institutes. And to ensure that the "showcase of innovation" that the Frankfurt Bridges represent is not developed without the market and industry, associations should also have a seat at the table during the coordination process.

The Concept Company Ltd only needs 50 - 60 permanent employees: primarily for coordination with public authorities and outsourcing of services

In the actual Planning Company Ltd, the divisional structure of the Concept Company Ltd is retained - it is therefore also advisable to take on as many staff as possible from the Concept Company Ltd in the company succession

The organisational structure of Planungsgesellschaft nach HOAI gGmbH is similar to its predecessor, the Concept Company Ltd, which is responsible for approving the land use plan and the 8 development plans for Frankfurt's bridges. With around 800 employees and a contract award volume of over 4 billion euros, it is significantly larger than the Konzeptplanungsgesellschaft, but structurally the business areas are the same.

Each department of the HOAI planning company is divided into 8 small groups, each of which focuses on one of the 8 development plans

Each development plan is a very large construction project in itself, so that the work in the individual departments of the planning company has to be divided up according to HOAI in such a way that there are eight groups per department, each of which examines and plans exactly the same thing or awards contracts and expert opinions etc., but for their respective development plan section.

Behind the project organisation lies a BIM organisation that captures the entire planning in a digital 3D model

That contains the exact position and characteristics of all elements of the supporting structure, the mechanical, water, digital, H2 , geothermal and electrical building services as well as the architecture of the entire structure including all its buildings

When working with BIM (Building Information Modelling), all project data, including that relating to the subsequent construction phase of the building, is linked to the digital 3D model during the planning phase in accordance with HOAI. For this to work, the planning processes between the specialist planners must be coordinated and dovetailed. However, this requires not only suitable BIM software or a common platform for all project participants, but also a special organisational structure in the planning company gGmbH in accordance with HOAI.

A matrix organisation with BIM management during the planning phase does represent an increased effort at the start of a construction project

but BIM organisation and BIM platform in the planning phases lead to significant time and cost savings in the later construction phase

It is almost impossible to quantify exactly how much time and money can ultimately be saved by managing software, schedules and costs across all areas and trades. What is certain is that BIM structures significantly reduce costs, especially later costs due to changes and waiting times, right from the planning phase. In the construction of the Frankfurt Bridges, the construction phase is not estimated to be a fifth of the total project time, but rather half. However, depending on the construction project, the actual implementation can actually be significantly shortened. An often impressive example can be found in the construction of new high-rise buildings, which are planned in such extreme detail in advance and where the contractors can rely on the allocated time slot to such an extent that often only a year passes between the laying of the foundation stone and the tenants moving in.

The Frankfurt Bridges are planned as a showcase for innovation, in which technologically innovative concepts are integrated into urban planning - and in such a way that they can also serve as a "blueprint" for other cities in Germany and around the world

The Frankfurt Bridges are conceived as an attractive investment that simultaneously implements optimal urban planning for the common good during their construction and the first decades of operation.

To ensure that such a detailed innovative concept and its implementation in practice not only benefits Frankfurt, but also finds its way into the routine urban planning of all municipalities in Germany, it is necessary for sovereign institutions to have a platform in the planning phase in accordance with HOAI where they can consult directly with research and science on the planned innovations and implement the corresponding specifications or changes to specifications in their respective offices.

The planning company in accordance with HOAI of the Frankfurt Bridges creates these "innovation circles" and makes the meetings with them an integral part of its planning process, whereby the financing of the personnel costs for the office employees involved must be covered by state subsidies and the Concept Company Ltd may only remunerate the experts from research and science. These innovation circles therefore have the character of a public-private partnership.

If, for example, an inner-city infiltration and extraction concept for the water supply of green spaces is developed in the course of the Frankfurt bridge construction, it makes sense to bring the Hessian State Office for Nature, Environment and Geology together with experts from research and science in a working group from the outset, so that findings from what is feasible, what must be considered and tested and what must be avoided become available as empirical values for all other offices in Germany that are responsible for the water and soil of municipalities. These should be able to build on the results of these "innovation circles" or utilise them directly.

The Innovation Circle participants from research and science can in turn take the results beyond Germany and out into the world with project work abroad and collaborations with international research institutions.

The Concept Company Ltd is to bring together sovereign institutions from the city and state with experts from research and development to form innovation working groups (I)

The Concept Company Ltd should bring together public institutions from the city and state with experts from research and development to form innovation working groups (II)

The planning companies for the Frankfurt Bridges must be non-profit organisations and cooperate with science and authorities in innovation circles

The Concept Company Ltd. is drawing up the master plan for the development plans with a comparatively small workforce of 50 - 60 employees, who purchase all the necessary specialist services externally and ensure the smooth realisation of the overall bridge concept with the help of an advisory board from the city's management practice. In addition, the Concept Company Ltd. is already dovetailing with research and science in order to incorporate only validated innovations into the masterplan. The planning company according to HOAI gGmbH is based on the structure of its predecessor company and, where possible, takes over its experts. It is intensifying its cooperation with state and city authorities as well as with research and science by working with them in innovation circles.