Passing the Pen (2)

The pen keeps flying! Here’s the second edition of Passing the Pen. Can you guess which buildings we’re sketching?

Guiding Architects: Passing the Pen (2)

Our members use this breathing space to have fun with architecture and to stay in touch with our colleagues all over the world. So when a pencil flies at us out of the blue, we simply have to draw…

Here is the next issue of Guiding Architects: Passing the Pen (2).
This time featuring Guiding Architects from Munich, Milan, Paris and Budapest.


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You can learn more about our network here.

Passing the Pen (1)

Our network for architectural tours Guiding Architects is also affected by the Corona effects. Normally, it would be high season now and we would introduce Hamburg’s architecture to many groups.

What do we and our partners from Guiding Architects do if we get stuck? We think about virtual tours, we already develop programs for the coming season, we update our presentation material and work out new ideas.

Guiding Architects: Passing the Pen (1)

But we all also use this breathing space to have fun with architecture and to stay in touch with our colleagues all over the world. So when a pencil flies at us out of the blue, we simply have to draw…

Here is the issue of Guiding Architects: Passing the Pen (1).
Besides Hamburg, Valencia, Rotterdam and Berlin are also included.

You can learn more about our network here.

The Kolbenhöfe on the former Kolbenschmidt site in Hamburg Altona-Ottensen

Between Friedensallee, the Euler-Hermes-Areal, the S-Bahn line and Hohenzollernring in Hamburg Altona-Ottensen, the Kolbenhoefe will be built in the next few years.

The former Kolbenschmidt site of a plant closed in 2009 for the production of engine pistons was used industrially for over 100 years. Since then, various interim uses have been established there in the old halls, some of which are full of character but heavily contaminated. In the competition procedure, in which extensive citizen participation was embedded, 10 invited architectural firms were looking for concepts for a colourful, diverse quarter appropriate to the district of Ottensen. The focus of the task was on the contractual mix of residential, commercial and craft areas.

The competition was won by coido architects together with Breimann & Bruun landscape architects and Argus urban and traffic planning. The urban development concept creates an interplay of different forms of use.

Kolbenhoefe on former Kolbenschmidt site

site map Kolbenhoefe © coido architects

In the next few years, the former industrial area will become an urban district. By 2022/2023 some 420 apartments will be built, of which around 140 will be subsidised according to Hamburg’s one-third mix. The innovative concept not only creates new living space, but also integrates areas for small local businesses and offices into the area. In this way, the Kolbenhoefe combine living and working in the immediate vicinity.

Kolbenhoefe in Hamburg Altona-Ottensen

The architecture of the Kolbenhoefe blends harmoniously into Ottensen’s urban structure. Historical factory buildings made of red brick are supplemented by new buildings and elements. Old and new buildings form permeable courtyards. The existing central square will be developed into a public centre. It offers sufficient space for events, markets and gastronomic offers.

Kolbenhoefe on former Kolbenschmidt site

Kolbenhoefe hall 6 © coido architects

The north-west with the former factory hall 7 forms one of three commercial focal points of the future quarter. This is where the local craftsmen and small trade businesses of Kolbenwerk eG have found a permanent home. This is followed by a flowing transition, characterized by offices and mixed forms of commercial and residential use. A particularly striking feature is Hall 6, also an existing building of the former Kolbenschmidt plant. Modern office lofts will be built here.

In the south and south-east, general residential areas are planned, in which a variety of different forms of housing will be sought. Multi-storey housing will alternate with townhouses and a high freestanding building. A day-care centre, a public playground, local amenities and generous open and green spaces make Kolbenhoefe an interesting location for families.

Kolbenhoefe on former Kolbenschmidt site

Kolbenhof Terrace © coido architects

In addition to the 420 apartments on the former Kolbenschmidt site on Friedensallee, there are some 255 apartments on the neighboring Henkel-Schwarzkopf site on Hohenzollernring, scheduled for completion in 2027. This part of Kolbenhoefe will also be implemented in Hamburg’s one-third mix.

Henkel-Schwarzkopf’s current location in the northeast of the Kolbenhoefe will continue to be used commercially in the future. In addition to Halls 6 and 7, this is where the third commercial focus of the Kolbenhoefe quarter lies. A special feature: The architecture creates a direct link between commercial and residential areas, “back to back” so to speak. The large park, behind the row of houses on Hohenzollernring, is retained. Its old stock of trees will continue to bring plenty of greenery into the quarter in the future.

You can learn more on our architectural tour Ottensen.

New building of the centre for studies and doctoral training at Hamburg University of Technology

The structural work on the new Centre for Studies and Doctoral Training (ZSP) at the Hamburg Harburg University of Technology (TUHH) has been completed and the building project is now entering its final construction phase. The new building was designed by DFZ Architekten. It is being realised by the Sprinkenhof GmbH on behalf of the Authority for Science, Research and Equality. The move into the new ZSP is planned for December 2020.

Centre for Studies and Doctoral Training TUHH

Centre for Studies and Doctoral Training TUHH © Sprinkenhof GmbH / DFZ Architekten

On three floors with a total of 1,936 m² gross floor area (GFA), the building will mainly provide rooms for student working groups and junior professorships, office space and a doctoral examination room for 70 people. In addition, a cafeteria will be set up. In total, the TUHH will have a building area of over 68,000 m² at its disposal.

The reason for the new building is the increased space requirements of the TUHH for student teaching and learning rooms. Research also has a place in the ZSP: the TUHH Institute of Hydraulic Engineering is planning to erect experimental setups on the greened flat roof. Here, the rainwater retention capacity of different green roof superstructures will be investigated.

New building of the centre for studies and doctoral training at the TUHH by DFZ Architekten

Topographical projections and characteristics shape the inside of the building, dividing it on the ground floor into the lower-lying public area with foyer and café and the doctoral examination and seminar area, reachable by a staircase. High ceilings on the lower level give the café a bright and welcoming feel.

Workspaces for the students are found on the upper floors. The two-meter-deep incision in the west of the building, starting from the first floor, is a reaction to the existing protected trees. On the first floor this feature is used to create an outdoor area for the students.

The move into the new Centre for Studies and Doctoral Training of the TUHH is planned for December 2020

The playful arrangement of floor to ceiling glass elements and closed facades achieves a vertically oriented, keyboard-like appearance. The closed areas are composed of metal panels of varying widths, similar to those found on the extensions of the main building. The material creates a deliberate contrast to the existing brick buildings while its colour references the red brick dominant in the surrounding buildings, creating a harmonious ensemble.

You can learn more on our architectural tour IBA.

Architecture from the couch: tips from Anna Jens and Frauke Larsson

We continue our series “Architecture from the couch”. After Diego Baloain in Santiago de Chile and Sebastian Beck in São Paulo, we are moving on to the United Kingdom.

Next up are our Guiding Architects partner Anna Jens and Frauke Larsson from GA London in London.

The majority of us are currently sitting in our home offices and thus have no opportunity to explore the world. So we thought we bring the world to you. For this purpose we have asked our partners from Guiding Architects a few questions about the current situation.

Read their answers here and get a few tips on how the situation is dealt with in other countries and what you can see from home.

Architecture from the couch: tips from Anna Jens and Frauke Larsson

1. what is the situation like in your city?
London and the UK have been in lockdown since 23 March – relatively late compared to other countries and London has been hit quite hard due to a very underfunded health system. Unfortunately, our government did not take the virus very seriously at first, so our Prime Minister, as you know, ended up in intensive care.

Apart from the vital shops like supermarkets and pharmacies, everything is closed and you are not allowed to leave the house or travel unnecessarily. Especially for the poor and homeless the situation is very hard.

Architecture from the Couch: Tips from our Guiding Architect Partners

Anna Jens © a-tour

2. how do you look into the future?
It’s hard to say at the moment, but it’s unlikely that things will return to normal in the foreseeable future – because the government has been so slow to react and doesn’t carry out many tests. The numbers are skyrocketing at the moment and it is likely that London will soon be the European epicentre.

As far as our business is concerned, it’s hard to say, obviously there are no tours taking place at the moment and in the foreseeable future – not a good time to start!

Architecture from the couch: tips from Anna Jens and Frauke Larsson

3. What could be viewed digitally in your city (museum, gallery, archive)?

Most museums offer some kind of free online exhibition, please see below:

Tate Modern
National Gallery
British Museum

Architecture from the Couch: Tips from our Guiding Architect Partners

Museum of Architecture © a-tour

4. name a positive initiative from your city, which has been created due to the current situation?
If anything, I think the government and everyone else sees the essential jobs differently – especially the NHS (National Health Service) and it’s nice that there’s a lot of solidarity.

5. give us 1 tip for an architecture book and/or a documentary on architecture and/or movie and/or podcast that you have enjoyed recently?                                                                         

A nice podcast focusing on British architecture and British architects, but also architecture theory. Or the Bartlett International Lecture Series (12-13, 13-14) with some interesting entrances

Architecture from the couch: tips from Sebastian Beck

We continue our series “Architecture from the couch”. After Zeynep Kuban in Istanbul and Diego Baloain in Santiago de Chile, we are moving on to Brasil.

Next up is our Guiding Architects partner Sebastian Beck from ARCHIPEL* in São Paulo.

The majority of us are currently sitting in our home offices and thus have no opportunity to explore the world. So we thought we bring the world to you. For this purpose we have asked our partners from Guiding Architects a few questions about the current situation.

Read their answers here and get a few tips on how the situation is dealt with in other countries and what you can see from home.

Architecture from the couch: tips from Sebastian Beck

1. what is the situation like in your city?
We have had clear restrictions from the state government in São Paulo for four weeks. São Paulo is the state with the highest number of infections with Covid-19 in Brazil and Latin America. Most people stay at home in strict quarantine, but some people cannot follow the rules because of financial aspects and precarious housing situations. The public health system is not really well prepared for the upcoming number of infected people.

Architecture from the Couch: Tips from our Guiding Architect Partners

Sebastian Beck © a-tour

2. how do you look into the future?
Negative. The political, economic and financial situation was already quite difficult before Corona. The government with the current president Jair Bolsonaro does not promise anything good for the time after the Corona crisis. A terrible crisis management, full of contradictions and serious mistakes, suggests that Brazil is heading for difficult times.

Architecture from the couch: tips from Sebastian Beck

3. What could be viewed digitally in your city (museum, gallery, archive)?

Virtual visit at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo

Virtual visit at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo MASP

Architecture from the Couch: Tips from our Guiding Architect Partners

MASP Museu de Arte São Paulo © a-tour

4. name a positive initiative from your city, which has been created due to the current situation?
Unfortunately I could not find any positive initiative from the city. Positive activities are proposed by private initiatives. Since we have a strong architecture network in São Paulo, there are always live conferences on youtube or instagram with high participation.

5. give us 1 tip for an architecture book and/or a documentary on architecture and/or movie and/or podcast that you have enjoyed recently?                                                                                   Pocket Atlas of Remote Islands: Fifty Islands I have not visited and never will, Judith Schalansky, Penguin Books (I’m not sure, if we can consider it an architecture book 😉 , but maybe a book for architects in corona times…)

Architecture from the couch: tips from Diego Baloain

We continue our series “Architecture from the couch”. After Bo Christiansen in Copenhagen/Malmö, Anneke Bokern in Amsterdam/Rotterdam, Boris Strzelczyk in Valencia, Bettina Johae in New York, Cristina Silva in Porto/Lisbon and Zeynep Kuban in Istanbul, we are moving on to Chile.

Next up is our Guiding Architects partner Diego Baloain from Massantiago in Santiago de Chile.

The majority of us are currently sitting in our home offices and thus have no opportunity to explore the world. So we thought we bring the world to you. For this purpose we have asked our partners from Guiding Architects a few questions about the current situation.

Read their answers here and get a few tips on how the situation is dealt with in other countries and what you can see from home.

Architecture from the couch: tips from Diego Baloain

1. what is the situation like in your city?
Here in Santiago the restrictions vary depending on the district; some are under a total lockdown and other ones are with partial restrictions. But we are mostly in a voluntary quarantine, the people in general behave responsibly and everything is closed except the basic supply stores and basic services.

Architecture from the Couch: Tips from our Guiding Architect Partners

Diego Baloian © Massantiago

2. how do you look into the future?
The data here is still confusing, the mortality rate is low, because we have a young population and so far the public health system has not collapsed, but the numbers are increasing and the future is very uncertain. The peak of the pandemic is estimated to arrive by the end of April, so our indoor life will continue for a few months. Thus, the economic crisis will be ruthless, especially for the poor people who live on a daily income. Nevertheless, the people in Chile are used to deal with natural disasters (earthquakes and tsunamis) and therefore, in these situations there is a strong sense of unity, which I think will really help us handle this crisis with solidarity.

Architecture from the couch: tips from Diego Baloain

3. What could be viewed digitally in your city (museum, gallery, archive)?

I recommend to visit:
Precolumbian Arts Museum
Nationl History Museum
Chile Explora

Architecture from the Couch: Tips from our Guiding Architect Partners

Monasterio de los Benedictino © a-tour

4. name a positive initiative from your city, which has been created due to the current situation?
I don’t really find a public initiative from the city, every district is very independent here in Santiago. But the central government has initiated a series of social and economic measures and also the people are being very supportive.

5. give us 1 tip for an architecture book and/or a documentary on architecture and/or movie and/or podcast that you have enjoyed recently?                                                                         

archdaily: Seoul City Machine / Liam Young for the Shenzhen Biennale

Heidegger’s hut

Architecture from the couch: tips from Zeynep Kuban

We continue our series “Architecture from the couch”. After Bo Christiansen in Copenhagen/Malmö, Anneke Bokern in Amsterdam/Rotterdam, Boris Strzelczyk in Valencia, Bettina Johae in New York and Cristina Silva in Porto/Lisbon, we are moving on to Turkey.

Sixth, our Guiding Architects partner Zeynep Kuban from GA Instanbul in Istanbul reports.

The majority of us are currently sitting in our home offices and thus have no opportunity to explore the world. So we thought we bring the world to you. For this purpose we have asked our partners from Guiding Architects a few questions about the current situation.

Read their answers here and get a few tips on how the situation is dealt with in other countries and what you can see from home.

Architecture from the couch: tips from Zeynep Kuban

1. what is the situation like in your city?
It is like everywhere, schools are closed since 4 weeks, all public gatherings of all sorts are prohibited, people go out less. The difference is that there is a prohibition for people over 65 (retirement age) to go out. As they are the most vulnerable. (But of course nothing has been planned) But this is most about white collars. The working class is still going to work and many (probably most) will not get a paid leave. On some large construction sites the workers went on strike because the working conditions were not appropriate.

Architecture from the Couch: Tips from our Guiding Architect Partners

Zeynep Kuban © a-tour

2. how do you look into the future?
I have an ambiguous view. The fact that the air is much more cleaner and environmental issues become more clear, I would find it sad, if after everything people go back to travel as much as possible, consume as much as possible. Our business is based on these short city trips by plane and if we feel responsible for the nature, we shouldn’t do what we do…. On the other hand we love what we do… Difficult. But at least I hope that people (including me) will have learnt, that we do not need so much….

Architecture from the couch: tips from Zeynep Kuban

3. What could be viewed digitally in your city (museum, gallery, archive)?
The private art museums go online as much as possible, state museums do not even have a good website.

Architecture from the Couch: Tips from our Guiding Architect Partners

EAA Museum © Cemal Emden

4. name a positive initiative from your city, which has been created due to the current situation?
Like everywhere, it is the private initiatives; but there is one association, I find very useful that supports, among many other things, those that will not be able to bring food home during these days.

5. give us 1 tip for an architecture book and/or a documentary on architecture and/or movie and/or podcast that you have enjoyed recently?                                                                         

Bruno Taut, Architekturlehre, This is a book of Bruno Taut, published first in 1938 in Turkish and in 1977 in German, then again last time in 2017. There is no English translation so far.

Architecture from the couch: tips from Cristina Silva

We continue our series “Architecture from the couch”. After Bo Christiansen in Copenhagen/Malmö, Anneke Bokern in Amsterdam/Rotterdam, Boris Strzelczyk in Valencia and Bettina Johae in New York, we are moving on to Portugal.

Fifth, our Guiding Architects partner Cristina Silva from Cultour in Porto and Lisbon reports.

The majority of us are currently sitting in our home offices and thus have no opportunity to explore the world. So we thought we bring the world to you. For this purpose we have asked our partners from Guiding Architects a few questions about the current situation.

Read their answers here and get a few tips on how the situation is dealt with in other countries and what you can see from home.

Architecture from the couch: tips from Cristina Silva

1. what is the situation like in your city?
Concerning our business, it has stopped completely. We still have some planned tours for June, but I don’t believe that they will take place and some other ones for fall. New requests aren’t coming in our email box anymore.
Concerning the country, almost everything is closed (schools, museums, non-essential businesses – restaurants are allowed to serve take-away) and people who are not obliged to work outside are asked to stay at home, unless they need to buy essentials/ go to the pharmacy, to doctor/ to exercise outside during some minutes.

Architecture from the Couch: Tips from our Guiding Architect Partners

Cristina Silva © cultour

2. how do you look into the future?
We expect the future to be brighter than the present, as we have this wishful thinking that people’s wanderlust will remain and may even increase after being locked up in their own homes. On the other hand, we are afraid that the traveling fear will continue for some months after the pandemic stops (and we don’t know if there will be a second outbreak in the fall) in addition to an increasing ecological awareness related with (plane) traveling that was already existing and may have raised during this crisis.

Architecture from the couch: tips from Cristina Silva

3. What could be viewed digitally in your city (museum, gallery, archive)?
Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon offers a virtual visit.

As well Casa da Arquitectura in Porto, including a visit to the exhibition on Souto de Moura that ‘is’ now on display.

Architecture from the Couch: Tips from our Guiding Architect Partners

Casa das Histórias Paula Rego © a-tour

4. name a positive initiative from your city, which has been created due to the current situation?
I think that the city governments are very busy dealing with the crisis and adapting their own services to these changes Like Zeynep (Istanbul) said, here there are also solidarity chains between neighboors more or less formal.

An initiative in Porto that involves architecture, more specifically balconies: The Festival Varandas® (Balconies Festival). It is a multidisciplinary event crossing theatre, music, poetry, new circus and presenting performances that turn balconies into stages. In these pandemic times our challenge for 29 March was to make your balcony your stage, and your neighbourhood your audience, creating a version of the festival in which Balconies are not only the stage, but the audience, as well. Here Instagram: festivalvarandas

5. give us 1 tip for an architecture book and/or a documentary on architecture and/or movie and/or podcast that you have enjoyed recently?                                                                         

There’s this movie called Columbus, by the Korean Kogonada (2017). Its plot takes place in Columbus, Indiana, USA, which is a small city of only 46,000 people, where some of the world’s most notable architects can be found and some of their very best work, like Eliel Saarinen, Eero Saarinen, Kevin Roche, I.M. Pei,among others.

Talking about Portuguese architecture and Portuguese architects we suggest the following movies:
– this documentary about Souto de Moura directed by Thom Andersen called Reconversion (2012) about 17 projects and buildings.

Having A Cigarette with Álvaro Siza, by Iain Dilthey (2016) narrated by Siza Vieira himself

Availabe on internet:
About 11 minutes talk with Álvaro Siza recorded in Porto, on youtube (2019?)

On September 25, 2015, the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Architecture, presented Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza at the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall. Available here.
Among many others that we could name.

We also must refer both catalogues edited this year of 2020:

One of the exhibition on a selection of the work of Souto de Moura up until now that is on display at Casa da Arquitectura, Matosinhos (the one we mentioned above, but it’s closed now of course): „Souto de Moura“, Yale University Press, 2020, ISBN: 9780300248654.

Another one of the exhibition on 30 projects by Siza that surveys Siza’s design proccess called Álvaro Siza Indiscipline, edited by Walther König; 2020, ISBN:978-9727393718

Herzog & de Meuron win urban planning competition for new Grasbrook district together with Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten

The urban development and open space planning ideas process that HafenCity Hamburg GmbH, together with the Hamburg Ministry of Urban Development and Housing and the Ministry of the Environment and Energy, had initiated for the new Grasbrook district on the southern bank of the Elbe has been completed. The public participation in the final phase and the final jury meeting were conducted in virtual form due to the corona crisis. The award-winning design by the Herzog & de Meuron and Vogt Landscape Architects team will now determine the overall urban and open-space planning image of the Grasbrook district.

Herzog & de Meuron win urban planning competition for new Grasbrook district together with Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten

location plan Grasbrook © Herzog & de Meuron and Vogt

The new district of Grasbrook is located opposite HafenCity, on the southern bank of the Elbe, and will be the new district neighbour to the west of the Veddel. The district is intended to be a fine-grained, mixed and lively place, but at the same time it has the potential for a globally exemplary sustainable project that takes limited resources into account. Approximately 3,000 apartments, both rented and owned, are planned for cooperatives and building societies, a third of which are subsidised apartments. The social infrastructure, including primary school and daycare centers, as well as new local amenities, sports and cultural activities, will also be located here. In addition, around 16,000 jobs will be created. Through innovative use and mobility concepts as well as improved access to public transport and generous green spaces, the Grasbrook is expected to bring direct benefits to the people in the surrounding districts.

Herzog & de Meuron win urban planning competition for new Grasbrook district together with Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten

For the urban and open space planning qualification of the new Grasbrook district of Hamburg, the objective was to create a high-quality functional planning with international participation as a basis for the subsequent development. The so-called competitive dialogue was chosen as the procedure, which allows for a continuous dialogue between the tenderers and planning offices and extensive public participation. As a particularly innovative element, open space planning was not processed as a “subsequent greening”, but as an equal competition component at the same time as urban development. The results of the comprehensive location analysis, the preliminary participation processes and initial approaches to the strategic innovation topics were incorporated as preliminary work.

Herzog & de Meuron win urban planning competition for new Grasbrook district together with Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten

Grasbrook perspective 1 © Herzog & de Meuron and Vogt

The entire Grasbrook competition process, which started in September 2019, was accompanied by an intensive participation process, which met with an extraordinarily high level of public interest in a mixture of public events and online offerings. Neighbours from Veddel, Rothenburgsort, Wilhelmsburg and HafenCity as well as Hamburg residents were invited to actively participate in the ideas process through four Grasbrook workshops with different thematic focuses, online participation and outreach surveys. The results of the discussion process were documented, evaluated and already included in the task of the “Competitive Dialogue”. Most recently, in January 2020, citizens took up the offer of an all-day citizens’ workshop to provide the designing planning offices with personal suggestions and tips for the final preparation of the final drafts. A total of around 2,500 citizens contributed their suggestions, fears and ideas to the Grasbrook ideas process. We reported on this.

Even after the decision of the Competitive Dialogue, the next planning steps will be accompanied by a variety of public participation opportunities. The results of the Competitive Dialogue are expected to be publicly exhibited again in autumn 2020 with plans and models and discussed in various public discussion formats. In autumn 2020, formal public participation will also start in the context of the B-Plan procedure.

Herzog & de Meuron win urban planning competition for new Grasbrook district together with Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten

Grasbrook perspective 2 © Herzog & de Meuron and Vogt

Since the first jury meeting on 3 December 2019, three selected international planning teams, each made up by the jury from an urban and open space planning office, have been working on concretising their ideas for the new Grasbrook district.

In the second and final jury meeting on 3 April, the jury, which was made up of various specialist disciplines and political representatives and chaired by Prof. Matthias Sauerbruch (sauerbruchhutton), awarded the following prizes.

  1. Price: Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd. (Basel) und VOGT Landschaftsarchitekten AG (Zurich)
  2. Price: Mandaworks AB (Stockholm) und Karres en Brands RB (Hilversum)
  3. Price: ADEPT ApS (Copenhagen) und Studio Vulkan Landschaftsarchitektur GmbH (Zurich)

These were special conditions under which this intensive one-and-a-half year process of ideas for Hamburg’s new Grasbrook district was completed. The corona pandemic required appropriate adjustments and innovative solutions. The planned public final presentation on the evening before the jury meeting was replaced by a 12-hour online participation. In order to come as close as possible to the original format, a comprehensive 20-minute video presentation and plans were provided for each team. Around 200 comments from interested citizens were received, evaluated overnight and brought to the jury meeting.

The all-day jury meeting the following day was also largely conducted in digital form as a video conference. For the jury members who were physically present, correspondingly large protective distances could be maintained in the 1,200 sqm hall of the Hamburg Cruise Center.

Urban planning ideas with Moldauhafenquartier, Hafentorquartier and Saalehafenquartier

With the award-winning design by the Herzog & den Meuron and Günter Vogt landscape architects team, the city has been given a “spatial timetable” that makes the leap across the Elbe River clear. With this design, Grasbrook is to become a new showcase district with a clear urban structure, with opportunities for sustainability innovations for a climate-neutral district.

For this purpose the Grasbrook was divided into three quarters: the Moldauhafen quarter, the Hafentor quarter and the Saalehafen quarter. In the middle, a five-hectare, elongated park, the city park “Veddelhöft”, is to be created with a lake, at the western tip of which the museum ship “Beijing” will later also be given its place. The large park is the core of the proposal, surrounded by residential areas. Existing listed buildings along the port facilities will be preserved and form a starting point for the new development.

Herzog & de Meuron win urban planning competition for new Grasbrook district together with Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten

Grasbrook perspective 3 © Herzog & de Meuron and Vogt

The extensive canopy of the Übersee-Zentrum will become a central open space in the new quarter. A number of commercial buildings will run along the road axis in the east and the port area in the south. The Übersee-Zentrum at the Moldauhafen harbour with shops, cafés and a weekly market is directly connected to the neighbouring district of Veddel by a wide pedestrian bridge. The new Grasbrook U-4 station will be built above the water – on stilts in the basin of the Moldauhafen, opposite the “Überseemeile”. Three high-rise buildings are also planned around the basin of Moldauhafen harbour.

Herzog & de Meuron based the facades of the planned buildings on the existing Hamburg architecture. In the Moldauhafen quarter facing HafenCity, for example, there will be white plastered facades with wooden buildings behind them. In the other two quarters red brick is to dominate. From above, however, the buildings will have a uniform appearance: greenery and solar panels. The new quarter combines everything that makes up the quality of life in Hamburg: living and working in the middle of the city and at the same time by the water.

Herzog & de Meuron win urban planning competition for new Grasbrook district together with Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten

Grasbrook perspective 4 © Herzog & de Meuron and Vogt

It is planned to complete the preliminary planning by summer 2021 with renewed intensive citizen participation.

The next steps are now the preparation of a detailed functional and development plan, the allocation of the plots of land and the further architectural planning of the individual buildings. The first building construction measures could begin in 2023.

Discover with us the newly planned Grasbrook district. You can learn more on our architectural tours.