Quarters

Corporate Location in the Speicherstadt

Brooktorkai/Ericus’ position between the Speicherstadt and existing city center makes it well suited as a corporate location

With its optimal location vis-à-vis the existing city center, Brooktorkai's meandering structure extends over four building plots. Ericus Contor and the Spiegel publishing house on Ericusspitze are currently under constructionand establish a continuous connection (© ELBE&FLUT) Start slideshow

The Brooktorkai/Ericus neighborhood has a specifically maritime character: it is fringed by the historic brick buildings of the Speicherstadt, by Brooktorhafen, and the water passage linking Holländischbrookfleet canal. The western part of Brooktorkai, comprising a total 54,000 sqm gross floor area (GFA), was developed by Germanischer Lloyd AG and Quantum Immobilien AG.

The move here of 1,600 employees of Ger­manischer Lloyd in March 2010 was the biggest corporate relocation into Hafen­City so far. One of the three towers in the ensemble contains 30 apartments with views of the emerging green space of Lohsepark. Right next door, the International School of Man­agement has been preparing students for their future careers in international busi­ness since 2010.

The outstanding feature of Brooktorkai is the meandering structure of its archi­tecture, visually broken up and enhanced by three nine-floor tower blocks. The red-brick facework of the building ensemble echoes the color of the nearby Speicherstadt. The firm of gmp, von Ger­kan, Marg und Partner (Hamburg), won the urban design competition for Brook­torkai (excluding Ericusspitze). Also suc­cessful in architectural competitions alongside gmp were Jan Störmer archi­tects (Hamburg) and Antonio Citterio and Partners (Milan).

Major publishing house marks entry to Hafencity

At the northeastern entrance to Hafen- City Robert Vogel GmbH & Co. KG and the ABG group of companies have built a new publishing building for the Spiegel group and the Ericus Contor building with fur­ther office space. In September 2011, the Spiegel group brought its activities together in around 30,000 sqm gross floor area (GFA). The new Spiegel build­ing was awarded the HafenCity Ecolabel in gold in 2012. The publishing house and Ericus Contor (20,000 sqm GFA) with their pale façades and massive shared plinth were planned by Henning Larsen Architects (Copenhagen). The architec­tural concept closely references the Speicherstadt and the Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall, thus doing paying tribute to the urban planning significance of the loca­tion as the entrée to central HafenCity. Unusually, due to traffic noise, residen­tial uses in this small neighborhood are not significant.

A bridge almost like a square

Outside, the Brooktorkai open space is extended by Shanghaibrücke road bridge, designed by Dietmar Feichtinger (Paris, Vienna), crossing Brooktorhafen harbor. Almost as wide as it is long, the bridge offers generous space for pedes­trians and cyclists. On the northern side, the promenade leads under the bridge, which will provide a route free of road crossings from Ericusspitze along Brook­torhafen, Magdeburger Hafen and Baak­enhafen to the Elbe. The Hamburg asso­ciation of architects and engineers chose Shanghaibrücke as one of three Ham­burg Buildings of the Year in 2006. Anotherpedestrian bridge, designed by Dietmar Feichtinger, which also won the award the following year, Leon­brücke, connects the new Brooktorhafen harborside promenade with the new Dar es Salaam square, which was opened in June 2011 as part of the Magdeburger Hafen open space ensemble. The bridge, together with the promenades, forms the backbone of the close-knit footpath system in HafenCity.

Changing levels

The landscaping of large open spaces on Brooktorkai and at Ericusspitze was carried out by WES & Partner Land­schaftsarchitekten (Hamburg). A 30m stone sofa on Brooktorkai promenade looks out over the harbor basin, spacious steps at Ericusspitze invite strolling pass­ersby to change levels – steps for sitting or walking on rise to a plaza with views over the Ericus canal and Oberhafen har­bor basin.

Neighborhood profile

• Area: 4 hectares
  Total GFA: 106,000 sqm

• Jobs and commercial uses
  Jobs: approx. 3,350
  Uses: offices, education,
  retail, catering

• Homes
  30

• Development timeframe
  2007 to end 2011