IPMS Meeting 2019 @Frankfurt

29 Apr to 3 May 2019

The first physical meeting of IPMS Standard Setting Committee in 2019 was held in Frankfurt. It is the last face-to-face meeting before the launch of “International Property Measurement Standards: Retail Buildings”. During the meeting, a new classification of IPMS, namely, Room to Room (or Unit to Unit) basis was suggested by some committee members, and sparked a long debate that goes beyond that physical meeting.

One of our 5-day meetings was held at the board room of German HQ of PwC. The board room is located at the top floor of 55-storey skyscraper, the 4th tallest in Germany. A beauty panoramic view of the city was offered.

Frankfurt is not only a hub for commerce, but also for culture and education. I had a chance to visit a historical building complex built in 1930. The complex consists of six wings connected by a curved central corridor. It was the largest office building in Europe until the 1950s. It was also the HQ of American forces in Germany but now is a university camp. I got surprised that paternoster lifts are in use in the building. Yet, a fatal lift accident killed a young solider in 1991, when the building was occupied by the American forces.