Where sweat once dripped off dockland workers’ foreheads, creative minds now forge ad campaigns and newspaper headlines. The Medienhafen (Media Harbour) is Düsseldorf’s most spectacular urban revitalisation project, an old commercial harbour transformed by such architectural heavyweights as Richard Meier, Helmut Jahn and Claude Vasconi into a tableau of avant-garde buildings. Top billing goes to Frank Gehry’s Neuer Zollhof, a trio of sculptural high-rises sheathed in stainless steel, red brick and white plaster, respectively.

　　Moored nearby is Claude Vasconi’s Grand Bateau, built to resemble an ocean liner. A pedestrian bridge links to another quay dominated by William Alsop’s Colorium, easily recognised by its kaleidoscopic glass facade.