Excerpt: EDGE HafenCity by HENN is designed as an energy-efficient office building that actively fosters interaction and collaboration among its users. Shaped like a small town, it combines spaces for working, meeting, leisure, and relaxation. With its open atrium, terraces, and lushly planted roof, the building connects with its social environment and blends into the urban fabric of the Elbbrücken neighborhood.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] A multi-faceted new urban neighborhood for living, working, and leisure is evolving in the western part of Hamburg’s HafenCity on former industrial port sites. The recently completed EDGE HafenCity project is another important cornerstone of the Elbbrücken neighborhood. This energy-efficient office building actively fosters interaction and collaboration by bringing its users together while also being open to visitors and locals.
The new build comprises two parts: a square-shaped seven-story structure and a tower rising to a total height of almost 60 meters in the southwest corner. The building’s square grid allows for flexible use of the individual office units.
Two-story arcades and an eight-meter-wide, clear-span overhang mark the building’s main entrance on Amerigo-Vespucci-Platz. A central, publicly accessible atrium creates the communicating heart of the new building. An open staircase spirals around the central air space, interconnecting all floors. Terraced levels are located around the staircase on each floor. The new build thus replicates the design of the surrounding square using stairs and terraces in the interiors.
The building has been designed like a small town, including areas for meetings and exchange, shared lunch and coffee breaks, and personal relaxation. The ground floor accommodates restaurant and conference facilities, while the upper floors house rentable office spaces with zones for collaborative and focused work. They are designed as communal areas accessible to all tenants, while a lushly planted roof terrace encircles the building to provide space for recreational purposes.
Abundant daylight floods the interiors through the atrium and large windows. In concert with plants, natural materials, and networked digital techno-logies, it creates a comfortable atmosphere for work and social interaction.
EDGE HafenCity connects with its social environ-ment through its open and multi-faceted design, and the façade’s red color scheme blends visually into the urban fabric of eastern HafenCity. All roof surfaces of the building are designed as retention roofs and most of them are densely planted. The tower roof is equipped with photovoltaic panels to supply power.
EDGE HafenCity is an office building that fosters collaboration and creativity through its innovative work environment. It will become an active part of the social fabric of the new Elbbrücken neighborhood.
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