Text description provided by the architects. With the HafenCity Hamburg, a new district covering 157 hectares is being developed directly at the port. In addition to the mixed utilization, the relevant urban development concept calls for high-quality architecture. For this reason, there was a separate tendering process for each individual building site.
LOVE architecture and urbanism from Graz won the competition for “Baufeld 10.” The site is situated in an area within the Dallmannkai, directly on the water and in direct proximity to the “Elbphilharmonie” – a concert hall currently being developed by the Swiss Office of Herzog & de Meuron. In total, 26 architecutral offices were awarded projects at the Kaiserkai.
LOVE’s special challenge: The Baufeld 10 project was developed in a joint building venture. This means that the various future residents worked together to create a real community for the new building. Within this model, individualists connected with each other with the goal of building THEIR communal house. The building typology had to meet this expectation. This is why the building houses many different building typologies with all kinds of furnishing standards: from very large apartments (up to approx. 225m2) to smaller units (approx. 50m2), which feature entirely different designs – from one-storey apartments to maisonettes that stretch across four storeys.
For Baufeld 10, individualisation was the top priority. Each of the 28 new residents can now enjoy his or her unique lifestyle within his or her apartment – whether horizontal or vertical – whether in a small or a big apartment. These different visions were blended into one building – to everyone’s satisfaction.
Viewed from the outside, the residential building presents a gleaming white structure formed of slightly bevelled cubes and with generously proportioned, slightly bevelled window openings. The configuration of these window openings matches the layout of the apartments behind them. Each apartment has a balcony and/or bay which protrude from the building. Within the rigid row of buildings, this configuration provides maximum views in an “exciting direction” – namely, the harbour.
