Courtesy of Erick van Egeraat

Architect: Erick van Egeraat, Michiel Raaphorst
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Project Area: 9,681 sqm
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: Courtesy of Erick van Egeraat

read more »

Courtesy of Henning Larsen Architects

Architects: Henning Larsen Architects
Location: Brooktorkai, HafenCity, Hamburg, Germany
Client: Robert Vogel GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft og ABG Baubetreuungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG
Gross floor area: 50,000 sqm
Completion: 2011
Photographs: Cordelia Ewerth and Andreas Gehrke

read more »

© Karen Cilento

When we spotted the news on ArchRecord of a major delay for the Elbe Philharmonic, our hearts sank a little. We’ve been covering the building extensively during its construction period and have anxiously been awaiting its completion (a date that was pushed from 2010 to 2012, and, now, is uncertain).  Yet, technical difficulties pertaining to the saddle roof structure are creating a tangle between the German contractor Hochtief and the Elbe Philharmonic, leading Hochtief to stop work on the glass facade, the steel roof support structure, the 82m-long escalator and the building services.

More about the halted construction after the break.   read more »

© Jose Campos

Slowly, but surely, Hamburg’s beautiful Elbe Philharmonic Hall is nearing completion (according to the Philharmonic’s construction website, the roof construction that seals the large concert hall has just been completed!).  We shared some photos of the concert hall’s innovative and iconic skin system when we visited Hamburg earlier this year, and recently, Jose Campos shared his latest set with us.

Check out Campos’ photos and learn more about the completed ceiling construction after the break. read more »

Courtesy of partnerundpartner-architekten

Architects: partnerundpartner-architekten
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Design Team: Jörg Finkbeiner, Klaus Günter
Structural Engineer: ZRS-Berlin
Construction Supervision: Jan Becker – Freiräume gestalten
Project Year: 2011
Project Area: 75 sqm
Photographs: Courtesy of partnerundpartner-architekten

read more »

© Klaus Frahm

Richard Meier & Partners Architects has been awarded the American Architecture Award 2011 for Coffee Plaza in Hamburg, Germany. The American Architectural Awards is one of the most prestigious building awards program in the United States that honors “new and cutting-edge design”. This annual program is organized by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Center for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies to promote the best of new architecture and urban design.

The Coffee Plaza in Hamburg’s HafenCity is planned as a unique center for international coffee commerce and related lines of business. The project encompasses the design of the headquarters for one of the largest coffee trading companies worldwide and two office buildings with rentable areas as well as a public plaza and underground parking. The site is part of the ambitious new Master plan to redevelop Hamburg’s post-industrial port into a viable business, commercial and cultural center and is currently the largest urban development project in Europe. More after the break. read more »

Photo by ifmuth - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ifmuth/

The recession that began in 2007 technically ended in 2009, but you wouldn’t know it from visiting Detroit. The capital of U.S. auto manufacturing has been hit particularly hard, and stories of its plight during the economic downturn abound. Less reported, though, are the ideas and proposals put forth to return this city to its former glory. The urban renewal projects proposed are some of the latest in a long line of design projects that attempt to bring renewed prosperity and well being to the downtrodden sections of cities throughout the world. More on urban renewal and Detroit after the break. read more »

© EVOL

German artist EVOL recently completed an interesting interactive installation just outside of Hamburg, Germany for the MS Dockville music and art festival. The ‘Rural City’ is comprised of thin trenches about 1.5 meters deep in an ‘X’ shape that were dug out over the course of 8 days. Earth is held back with retaining boards made of Eternit and spray painted to resemble the facades of skyscrapers. More photos after the break. read more »

Photo by Mathias Kröning - http://www.flickr.com/photos/11800511@N06/

The idea for the Chilehaus came when Henry B. Sloman left Hamburg for Chile a poor man and returned to the city decades later with his newfound fortune. Upon his return, he decided that he wanted to give something back to his hometown, and so he commissioned architect Fritz Höger to design the Chilehaus, named for Sloman’s success in Chile. Completed in 1924, the Chilehaus quickly became a symbol of both Brick Expressionism architecture and Hamburg’s economic revival post World War I. More on the design of the Chilehaus after the break. read more »

© Courtesy of feldmann+schultchen

Architects: feldmann+schultchen
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Design team: André Feldmann, Arne Schultchen, Julia Otten, Mechthil Ubl, Sven Seevers
Project year: 2010
Photographs: Courtesy of feldmann+schultchen

read more »

© Karen Cilento

On a recent visit to Hamburg, we were able to see the progress of Herzog & de Meuron’s grand concert hall [check out our previous coverage here].  Although construction costs continue to escalate [almost 70 million Euro have been donated by private businesses for the project, and the project is well over its 240 million Euro proposed budget], once complete, it will be the highest inhabited building of Hamburg and bring even more life to the area’s harbor.

More images and more about the visit after the break. read more »

© Klaus Frahm

New York architects Richard Meier & Partners announced the opening of the new corporate headquarters for Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG), the world’s largest green coffee service group located in Hamburg’s HafenCity. The site of the new building is a part of a redevelopment initiative of the post-industrial port into a business, commercial and cultural center. Overlooking the Sandtorpark, harbor basins and the traditional skyline of Hamburg, the 12-story glass tower, now called Coffee Plaza, and its two adjacent office buildings, act as an anchor for the renovated harbor.

More information and images after the break. read more »

© Angelika Warmuth/DPA

Continuing our coverage of Herzog and de Meuron’s Elbe Philharmonic Hall, we just found some interesting news regarding the construction site.  Currently around 80 meters high, the music hall still has a few years of construction left.  As huge cranes rise high above the building, Michael Batz, a scenographer, has taken advantage of the cranes and turned an ordinary construction site into a tourist attraction. Usually, people come to see a finished building – yet Batz’s idea of covering the cranes with blue LEDs creates a new kind of attraction.

Check out more images of the blue cranes, and a close up shot of the skin after the break.

read more »

OBRA Architects shared with us their project Spiral Housing: IBA Hamburg Smart Price Houses, a 3000 m2 residential apartment complex with community outdoor space. See more images and architect’s description after the break. read more »

© rasmussen | brunke | sauer

German office rasmussen | brunke | sauer shared with us their design of the new administrative building for BSU in Hamburg, Germany. It was an invited competition and they won the first prize ex aequo with three other offices (Sauerbruch Hutton, Behnisch Architects and GAP). More images and architect’s description after the break. read more »

Greeen! Architects have been awarded an honorable mention for their Eco Towers, an office building in Hamburg, Germany for the Building and Environment Authorities.  The office will accommodate 1400 people and will include several public areas as well as green gardens to “give room to nature and a create a green ambiance to all workers and visitors.”

More about the Eco Towers after the break. read more »