Elbe Philharmonic Hall, Hamburg

Published: 08-Jun-2009

Hamburg’s new hallmark, the Elbe Philharmonic is a combination of tradition with modernity - a bold glass structure rising above the massive, monumental redbrick block Kaispeicher A, at the western tip of HafenCity.

Key facts

PROJECT: Hamburg, Germany
DESIGNER: Herzog & de Meuron, Höhler and Werner Kallmorgen
CLIENT: Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
COST: €241.3m
COMPLETION TIME: 36 months

Project Description

Hamburg's under-construction Elbe Philharmonic Concert Hall will be a crystalline ice sculpture, crowning Kaispeicher A, a brick house beside the Sandtor harbor at the end of a wharf. Located in the new Hafencity district, the Elbe Philharmonic Hall will house two concert halls, a 250-room five star hotel with an international conference area, 47 owner-occupied apartments, a public plaza offering a fantastic view of the harbour at a height of 37 meters, a wellness area, a nightclub and a large number of parking spaces. The entire complex will occupy over 700,000 square feet area. The construction will be completed by 2011.

Designed by Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron, the Elbe Philharmonic Hall will be a wave-shaped, curved and inclined glass structure, having different surfaces in certain sections. Two third of the gutted warehouse will be primarily used as a carpark for some 570 vehicles and other high-end uses including an education area, additional backstage, wellness facilities and hospitality.

Eschewing the typical layout, the two large auditoriums with a capacity of 2,150 and 550, will opt for interlocking irregular terraces to form a steep-sided cauldron.  This will turn the Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall into a unique, almost 100 meter tall performance venue. Special attention is given to acoustics with the ceiling and building materials specifically chosen, to induce the best possible sound, regardless of style. Construction work for the concert hall level started in April 2008 and is scheduled to become operational in 2012.

The Elbe Philharmonic Hall is more than just a concert hall – it will form an entire residential and cultural complex. The residential section in the west towers up to 110 meters above the Elbe, offering impressive views of the city and the port. On the East side, a five star hotel with conference facilities offers a view of HafenCity, the largest downtown urban development in Europe. Positioned like a radiant joint between Warehouse and the new building, the plaza at the height of 37 meters, is a freely accessible zone meant to cultivate a cultural epicenter.

The single-shell glass facade displays the three functions of the building. The wave-like hatches in the air vents of the hotel and the horseshoe-shaped recesses in the balconies of the apartments, offer impressive views, protection from the wind and lateral ventilation of the connecting rooms. The inward-facing concert auditorium with its amber-coloured foyer shimmers through the glass wall. A calculated dense grid of white dots printed on the façade, provides protection from the sun.

The Elbe Philharmonic Hall is a public private partnership (PPP). ReGe Hamburg Projekt-Realisierungsgesellschaft mbH is the developer on behalf of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The Hamburg Parliament decided to construct the Elbe Philharmonic concert hall in October 2005. Elbe Philharmonic Hall Hamburg Foundation was founded under the initiative of  Bankhauser MM Warburg & Co and HSN Nordbank, to jointly foster realisation of the project. Three channels will be used to cover the finances – sale of the condominiums, commercial development of the plot and donations from local citizens.

The Elbe Philharmonic Concert Hall is one component of Hamburg's major cultural and aesthetic overhaul. The sister warehouse building, the Kaispeicher B, will house the Peter Tamm International Maritime Museum. With the “Internationales Maritimes Museum Hamburg” and cultural establishments planned for the Überseequartier, the Elbe Philharmonic Hall will be the cultural heart of HafenCity, further regenerating this inner city’s urban development.

Project Suppliers

Hochtief Construction Corporation - www.hochtief.com
CommerzLeasing - www.commerzleasing.cz
Holcim Ltd - www.holcim.be

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