Quarters

Residential and Workplaces by the Water

Surrounded by water and parks, Strandkai offers spectacular views, optimum locations for homes and such outstanding office buildings as Unilever headquarters

The first group of buildings in Strandkai - the Unilever hedquarters for German-speaking countries and the Marco Polo Tower residential block - is complete. They occupy an open area between the Elbe, the Marco Polo Terraces and the future Grasbrookpark (© ELBE&FLUT) Start slideshow

Seen from the Elbe bridges, Strandkai quarter is already a conspicuous part of Hamburg’s city silhouette. Its hybrid perimeter blocks are structured in six to seven-story building ensembles punctu­ated by high tower tops and individual towers, stand-alone or integrated. These high-points provide far-reaching views: downstream along the River Elbe, to the south across the port, to the north and west over Grasbrook harbor, HafenCity and the city center.

The urban design competition for the ten building plots was won by Böge Lindner architects (Hamburg). The south-eastern end of the neighborhood mainly comprises office space for modern service businesses. No homes will be built here due to proximity to the cruise terminal.

The majority of residential units are being built at Grasbrookpark nearby, although the most enviable locations on the tip of the promontory are reserved exclusively for living space, apart from ground floors.

Outstanding sustainability

The first building erected to the south of the Marco Polo Terraces is a prize-winning ensemble consisting of an office building and a residential tower. Both buildings were designed by the Stuttgart office of Behnisch architects. The office building (59) has been in use since summer 2009 by consumer goods group Unilever as its headquarters for German-speaking countries. Its 1,200 employees now occupy 25,000 sqm GFA. The building’s ecological sustainability is impressive: it was the first office building to be awarded the gold HafenCity Ecolabel in 2011. Unilever’s building had already won the BEX award for par­ticularly sustainable, innovative and efficient architecture in July 2009. In November 2009, at the World Architec­ture Awards in Barcelona, it was desig­nated World’s Best Office Building. Recently the German architectural asso­ciation (BDA) Hamburg awarded the Unilever building first prize for architec­ture of the construction years 2008-2010. It also won the readers’ prize from Welt/Welt am Sonntag newspapers.

The interior of the Unilever office building impresses with an atrium flooded with natural light, and open-plan offices with horizontally staggered work stations. A public urban space with shops runs through the ground floor, linking the Marco Polo Terraces to the newly landscaped Elbe waterfront prom­enade. The Elbterrassen make a dramatic entrée to the riverfront.

Marco Polo Tower wins Real Estate "Oscar"

The Marco Polo Tower (58), with its 58 apartments, has also won several awards. In 2010, the residential tower won the real estate “Oscar”, the MIPIM award, in the residential developments category. The previous year it was named best building in the European Property Awards. The whole ensemble is a land­mark, with the 55m high tower and its staggered stories visible from far away.

On the site directly adjacent to the east, a headquarters building for real estate group Engel & Völkers is to be completed by 2015. Around half of the 22,000 sqm GFA complex (60) is planned for residential uses and public amenities. The apartments will be on the southern side, as well as in the 15-story tower on the northwest side. A public area with restaurants is planned for the ground floor. Engel & Völkers also plans a top quality space for exhibitions and presentation events connected with its real estate and yacht business. Following an architectural competition for the building, which was won by the New York office of Richard Meier & Partners ahead of rivals Foster + Partners (London) and Zaha Hadid (London), construction should begin in early 2014.  Further to the east, the provisional cruise terminal will be replaced in the foreseeable future by a new building.

Living on the quay point

To the west of Unilever Haus on Strandkai point, around 430 residential units are to be erected on three plots (55-57)  by 2015/2016. Plans foresee perimeter block building typologies, with two residential towers setting urban accents. On the ground floor the Kinderkulturhaus, a children’s arts center, will take up more than 1,000 sqm space. However, other additional public amenities will mean that Strandkai is both a place of private residence and yet one that is very accessible to all Hamburg­ers and visitors.

Neighborhood profile

• Area: 8.4 hectares
  Total GFA: 243,000 sqm

• Jobs and commercial uses
  Jobs: approx. 4,770
  Uses: offices, hotel,
  retail, catering

• Homes
  560

• Special institutions
  Cruises ship terminal
  (provisional)
  Children's arts center

• Development timeframe
  2005 to 2020