HafenCity Project

HafenCity - facts and figures

The most important facts and figures about what is currently Europe’s biggest inner-city development project, its varied quarters and land use concepts

Essential facts and figures about Europe’s biggest inner-city development project now, its varied neighborhoods and land use concepts
Status: March 2012

 Overview

1. Essential facts  & figures
2. Development Management and HafenCity Hamburg GmbH
3. Development of HafenCity
4. Land use - current status
5. Sustainable HafenCity
6. Quarters

 

1. ESSENTIAL FACTS & FIGURES

HafenCity covers an area of 157 hectares, making it one of the most prominent inner-city waterfront development projects in the world. Based on a new concept for urban living, it will increase the size of Hamburg City by 40 percent (Hamburg has a population of approx. 1.78 million, the Hamburg Metropolitan Region 4.3 million). Between the historic Speicherstadt warehouse district and the River Elbe a new city with a cosmopolitan mix of homes, service businesses, culture, leisure, tourism and commerce is emerging. Structures typical of a port will be retained. The development is being managed by HafenCity Hamburg GmbH, a 100-per cent subsidiary of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The time-frame for development of the entire area extends to circa 2025. HafenCity is already rated as the model project for international waterfront and “new downtown” development.

Key data

• Total area: 157 hectares (ha)
• Land area: 126 ha
• Expansion of Hamburg City by 40 %
• Gross floor area (GFA): new building circa 2.32 million m²
• 6,000 homes and more than 45,000 jobs will be created
• 10.5 km of new waterfront with promenades and squares
• Around 26 ha public parks, squares and promenades
• Currently 49 projects are completed; another 35 under construction or planned
• Over 1 million m² GFA already confirmed through sales of land or exclusive options with planning obligations
• Previous to sale approx. 99 % of sites suitable for construction are publicly owned (“Stadt und Hafen” special fund under public law represented by HafenCity Hamburg GmbH)
• Investment volume: private investment approx. € 8 billion; public investment: circa € 2.4 billion, primarily financed out of sales of land in HafenCity (circa € 1.5 billion)
• General basis for planning:
  ◦Masterplan 2000
  ◦Masterplan revision eastern HafenCity 2010

 2. DEVELOPEMENT MANAGEMENT AND HAFENCITY HAMBURG GMBH

Major urban development projects call for strong interaction and coalescence between conception and realization. In particular, because of the high level of development and the considerable intricacy involved in closely coordinating public investment (circa EUR 2,4 billion) with acquisition of private investment (around EUR 8 billion) the resulting responsibilities are very complex and demand strong management.

In 1997 a port and location development company (GHS) was set up to manage the development of HafenCity – since 2004 it has been known as HafenCity Hamburg GmbH. It is responsible for the "special city and port fund" under public law: sales of land and areas of HafenCity almost completely owned by the City of Hamburg finance the lion’s share of public investment, notably roads, bridges, squares, parks, quays and promenades. In addition to this financing responsibility, HafenCity Hamburg GmbH also clears and prepares sites, plans and builds infrastructure and public spaces, acquires and contracts real estate developers and larger users, and is responsible for public relations and communication.

HafenCity Hamburg GmbH is a 100 percent subsidiary of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.  It is developing HafenCity at Hamburg’s behest.  Public supervision, cooperation, and the division of responsibilities are demanding: the supervisory board of HafenCity Hamburg GmbH consists of members of the city senate. Hamburg is a municipality and one of the 16 federal states of Germany. Sales and options (with an obligation to plan) on land purchases have to be approved by the Land Commission; zoning plans are subject to consultation and approval from the Commission of Urban Development (made up largely of parliamentary and local government representatives), zoning plans are processed by the Ministry of Urban Development and Environment and permits issued by it. Competition juries for urban planning and open space competitions as well as competitions for buildings are constituted, in addition to representatives of private developers and independent architects, by the Ministry of Urban Development and Environment (chief planning officer), the district council, HafenCity Hamburg GmbH and several politicians (from Mitte district or the city parliament).

By concentrating non-official functions in a dedicated development company of its own, Hamburg can ensure the efficiency and quality of the urban development project, yet through intensive division of labor and control also retain a high degree of public accountability.

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HafenCity Ecolabel awarded for the first time

The first building in HafenCity has been awarded the Ecolabel for exemplary sustainable construction, following preliminary certification. The Unilever building on Strandkai has received the HafenCity Ecolabel in gold, subsequent to external validation. The award will be presented to the owner of the building, RREEF Investment GmbH, and project developer HOCHTIEF Projektentwicklung GmbH, in the present of Unilever’s management and entire staff.

The first building in HafenCity has been awarded the Ecolabel for exemplary sustainable construction, following preliminary certification. The Unilever building on Strandkai has received the HafenCity Ecolabel in gold, subsequent to external validation. The award will be presented to the owner of the building, RREEF Investment GmbH, and project developer HOCHTIEF Projektentwicklung GmbH, in the present of Unilever’s management and entire staff.

Preliminary certification was given to the green corporate headquarters building before its completion in March 2009. It fulfilled three of the five categories required by the gold standard: extremely low primary energy requirements, outstanding management of public goods, and sustainable building operations.

This allows Unilever to make savings of around 60 per cent on electricity and 70 per cent on heating compared with its previous headquarters building. New and sustainable standards are being achieved for instance through innovative LED lighting, a cooling double-layered outer shell, heat exchangers on the roof as well as the concrete core conditioning system (here the cold temperature of ground water is used to cool the building).

The architects, Behnisch of Stuttgart, had ensured in the original design that the building would need little energy for lighting thanks to its optimal exposure to daylight and that optimal protection against sun, wind and cold is possible even when controlled individually in work stations. The innovative outer shell of the façade is particularly spectacular: the transparent foil that protects against strong wind and other weather influences also allows airing of the building through operable windows. Another special feature is the public accessibility of the atrium and other spaces around the building.

The building, which provides 25,000 sq. m gross floor area, was completed in 2009. It houses around 1,200 employees of Unilever’s headquarters for German-speaking countries. It was designed by Behnisch architects of Stuttgart and was developed by HOCHTIEF. The building has been the property of RREEF Investment GmbH since the beginning of 2010. It has already been showered with accolades, including World’s Best Office Building at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona in 2009.

 

Jürgen Bruns-Berentelg, chief executive, HafenCity Hamburg GmbH

"The HafenCity Ecolabel is an important incentive instrument for sustainable construction. Its innovative character and quality requirements are reflected in the quality of HafenCity’s buildings. With its sustainability solutions, the Unilever building is setting high standards for the future."

 

Thomas Ehrhardt, director fund management, RREEF Investment GmbH

"As one of the largest managers of investment property products around the globe, investment in sustainable products is very important to RREEF.  In addition to certification of buildings, the focus is also on their sustainable operation. Unilever Haus unites both qualities in an outstanding way."

 

Matthias Tscheu, head of HOCHTIEF Project Development North

"Sustainability is a given these days. As a founding member of the German Sustainable Building Council, we at HOCHTIEF feel a special obligation to this topic. The award of the HafenCity Ecolabel to Unilever Haus is for us project developers both an endorsement and incentive."

 

Harry Brouwer, CEO Unilever Deutschland Holding GmbH

"Sustainability is an integral element of our corporate strategy. By 2020, we plan as Unilever to have halved our ecological footprint. This building also contributes to our goal, so we are delighted about the award."

 

Criterion	Realized in Unilever building e.g. through:
Category 1 – Sustainable management of energy resources in a building	Undercutting primary energy requirement as per EnEV 2007 (German energy conservation regulations) by 50 % (amounts to at least a halving of energy requirements compared with reference buildings)   Double facade with external sun protection, ETEF foil providing wind protection and allowing cooling via windows (no need for air conditioning system to cool building)   LED lighting (reduction of building’s heating requirements and energy consumption)   Thermoactive construction elements, concrete core conditioning
Category 2 – Sustainable management of public goods	Large publicly usable areas in atrium and around the building Installation of a rainwater plant (grey water), waterless urinals in toilets
Category 5 – Sustainable facility management and mobility	High durability of materials used   Facility Management: low maintenance and cleaning costs   Building management concept (supply and waste management, façade cleaning, security)

 

 

Press contact:

Franka Kühn, press and public relations, HafenCity Hamburg GmbH

Tel: 040-37 47 26 21, email: kuehn@HafenCity.com

 

Press release and additional up to date information from:

www.HafenCity.com

Press images at https://presse.hafencity.com