HafenCity Hamburg GmbH is building a new office building in the Am Sandtorpark/Grasbrook neighborhood as a zero-emissions building in order to optimally position itself for its growing urban development tasks and the associated increase in personnel and space requirements in the future.
HafenCity Hamburg GmbH is responsible for four of Hamburg’s future projects – HafenCity, Grasbrook, Billebogen and Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld. At the same time, the construction project will redefine a previously unsatisfactory urban planning situation and complete the development of the quarter. As a zero-emissions building, it will set new standards for sustainable construction and the careful use of resources. In the basement, the building also provides space for the shore power plant for the sustainable supply of the cruise ships. In order to obtain planning permission for the office building, the Authority for Urban Development and Housing is drawing up the HafenCity 18 Development Plan. Early public participation will start on October 30, 2020, with construction of the building expected to begin in 2021 and completion planned for 2023.
Heizwerk HafenCity © a-tour
While HafenCity is developing eastwards as far as the Elbe bridges, the urban planning situation at the intersection of Am Dalmannkai and San Francisco Strasse remains unsatisfactory to this day. It was created in the 1990s, even before the HafenCity Masterplan was adopted, by the location of the combined heat and power plant, which still today and will continue to be an important component of the sustainable heat supply in western HafenCity. With the new office building, the opportunity is now being taken to give the disordered surroundings of the heating plant a clearer urban structure and to give the urban space more urbanity through new uses.
New building for HafenCity Hamburg GmbH
A six-storey office building with a gross floor area (GFA) of approximately 7,200 m² is to be built on the approximately 1,500 m² site. Attractive uses are planned for the first floor locations of the building, such as store units, gastronomy, culture or services, which will create additional offers for the neighborhood and contribute to a lively street space. Due to the proximity of the new cruise terminal currently under construction (Hamburg Cruise Center HafenCity), the necessary shore power system for the sustainable supply of cruise ships will be integrated in the basement of the new building. In this way, pollutant emissions from the ships during berthing times can be significantly minimized.
HafenCity Hamburg GmbH will construct and use the building as its future new corporate headquarters. In the competition for the office building, which it launched in September 2020 in agreement with the Hamburg Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, HafenCity Hamburg GmbH is setting high quality standards. Since 2007, HafenCity Hamburg GmbH has been demanding that builders comply with demanding environmental standards with its own eco-label. The demands placed on the participating planning offices in the architectural competition are correspondingly high. The zero-emissions building should be CO2-neutral in its overall balance sheet, i.e. over the entire building life cycle from construction and operation to deconstruction and disposal. According to the so-called cradle-to-cradle principle, the origin of materials and future dismantling and reuse must be included in the planning process from the very beginning. In addition to the ambitious sustainability goals, it is also important to develop a room program that is adapted to modern, digitalized working environments. The spaces should create the greatest possible flexibility and openness for HafenCity’s employees, but also for future tenants and users.
Heizwerk HafenCity © a-tour
HafenCity Hamburg GmbH wants to use the new building to create the conditions for the company’s future strategy. The results of the architectural competition are expected to be presented to the public in early December.
In order to create planning rights for the site, which is currently still part of the operating area of the combined heat and power plant, the Authority for Urban Development and Housing is currently drawing up the HafenCity 18 Development Plan. Following the involvement of public interest groups in July 2020, early public participation is now to take place. The documents will be available for one month from October 30, 2020 to November 30, 2020.
You can also learn more about the building on our HafenCity West architectural tour.