David Chipperfield wins Elbtower competition in Hamburg
11/02/2018.
[Hamburg] Germany
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
Description of project by David Chipperfield Architects
Situated on an exposed riverside site near the well-known Elbbrücken, this new mixed-use building acts as an entrance marker on the eastern edge of the Hafencity quarter and forms a counterpoint to the Elbphilharmonie to the west. Occupying a triangular plot at the point where the River Elbe and Oberhafen canal converge, the site offers the opportunity to create a freestanding, sculpted building. The building complements and contrasts with the form of the Elbphilharmonie, rising as a tapered tower above a public atrium. Set to be the highest building in Hamburg, the Elbtower is a key part of the Hafencity masterplan.
In contrast to the tower’s light appearance when viewed from a distance, the ground floor forms a more solid podium, embedded in the topography of the site. This podium opens to the city, linking to the train and underground station to the east and a bicycle-bridge over the canal to the north. These entrances converge to create an inner courtyard which provides access to the tower and extends the surrounding public realm. The podium and floors immediately above house a broad spectrum of public functions including bar, hotel, restaurant, retail and exhibition areas and the tower largely comprises office space.
The façade is clad in a delicate screen of cambered, light-coloured aluminium profiles, which serve as solar protection and give a moiré effect. While the curtain wall plays with the reflections of the sun during the day, a lighting concept by Studio Other Spaces transforms the Elbtower into a kinetic light sculpture at night.
David Chipperfield was born in London in 1953 and studied architecture at the Kingston School of Art and the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London before working at the practices of Douglas Stephen, Richard Rogers and Norman Foster.
In 1985 he founded David Chipperfield Architects, which today has over 300 staff at its offices in London, Berlin, Milan and Shanghai.
David Chipperfield has taught and held conferences in Europe and the United States and has received honorary degrees from the universities of Kingston and Kent.
He is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and an honorary fellow of both the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Bund Deutscher Architekten (BDA). In 2009 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and in 2010 he received a knighthood for services to architecture in the UK and Germany. In 2011 he received the RIBA Royal Gold Medal for Architecture and in 2013 the Praemium Imperiale from the Japan Art Association, while in 2021 he was appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in recognition of a lifetime’s work.
In 2012 he curated the 13th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale.