Elbtower

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Building mass study from 2016 in the model of the planned location of the Elbtower (right of the center of the picture), here with three smaller high points
Elbtower construction area in January 2020

The Elbtower is a high-rise project in the east of the HafenCity in Hamburg . The construction project, which costs around 700 million euros, is to be financed and implemented by Signa Prime Selection AG , a Signa Holding company owned by Austrian investor René Benko .

At the time the largely finalized structural design was presented on February 8, 2018, the Elbtower, with a planned height of 233.3 m, would be by far the tallest conventional building in the Free and Hanseatic City and the third-tallest in Germany after the Commerzbank Tower and the Messeturm (both Frankfurt am Main ). The design was developed by Christoph Felger from the office of the English architect David Chipperfield , who has already implemented a lower high-rise project in Hamburg with the Empire Riverside Hotel .

Location

The building is to be built on a prominent urban site on the north bank of the Norderelbe and thus mark the access to the inner city. The location is bordered by the Freihafenbrücke and the railway bridges in the west and the Billhorner Bridge and the New Elbe Bridge in the east. It is located directly at the Hamburg-Elbbrücken train station . The start of construction is planned for 2021 with a projected completion in 2025.Template: future / in 5 years

Building description

Sample facade of the Elbtower, taken in June 2020

The Elbtower covers a base that has approximately the shape of an isosceles, right-angled triangle, with the hypotenuse of this triangle lying parallel to the bank of the Oberhafenkanal in the northeast, while the cathets lie in the west and south.

The design consists of a comparatively extensive, four- to five-storey base, from which six to seven further, smoothly staggered storeys develop, which in turn develop into a slender / curved sixty-one-storey tower figure in the southeast of the building. The top eight floors of the tower take up the motif of the flowing gradation again by gradually receding in a northeasterly direction. The complex geometry of the structure results in different urban development effects depending on the viewing location. The modern facade will light up at night. This is done by means of LED lights that are attached to the exterior facade.

Senior Building Director Franz-Josef Höing announced on November 23, 2018 that the building should now be 245 m high. The additional meters result from the planning of a restaurant at a height of 200 meters and a planned viewing platform on the 55 floor.

history

The Senate presented the project for the first time in March 2017 at the MIPIM . According to estimates, the construction costs will amount to 700 million euros. The Austrian investor is paying 122 million euros for the property. From the answer of the Senate to a small written question from MP Jörg Hamann (CDU) of September 14, 2018 (printed matter 21/14277) it emerges that the other two "best bidders" in the award procedure, which did not get a chance, had significantly higher price offers have made. Accordingly, "the absolute purchase prices of the unsuccessful best bidders were 131,930,000 euros and 135,000,000 euros."

reception

The project has received both support and opposition from the public and political representatives. While the ruling SPD and the opposition parties CDU and FDP welcomed the plans, the Greens, as coalition partners of the SPD , expressed skepticism. Critics pointed out that the renovation and development of existing structures such as the Heinrich Hertz Tower (Hamburg TV tower) and the Bismarck monument in the ramparts should have priority over new so-called prestige projects. The Senate responded to this criticism by announcing a transparent building project and, in particular, purely private-sector financing of the project. Further criticism relates to the more fundamental urban development question of whether a high-rise building of the planned volume would fit into Hamburg's building tradition.

Furthermore, concerns are expressed that the project - comparable to other local and national large-scale projects such as the Elbphilharmonie , which opened around a year before the draft was presented - could become a burden for the public coffers in the event of poorly drafted contracts.

Based on a written request from MEP Martin Schirdewan ( GUE / NGL ) in the European Parliament , the European Commission is currently (as of 2019) working on an opinion on the question of whether the construction project falls under the EU procurement directive .

In June 2020, the construction project came under fire again. The investment sum of 700 million euros could not be justified given the announced cuts and branch closings at Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof , a department store chain also belonging to Signa Holding. It is also questionable whether companies could even afford the planned high rents due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic .

Current

On March 27, 2019, the Hamburg Parliament decided to sell the property to the investor. A number of additional conditions were agreed to prevent the investor from completing the construction and thereby incurring costs for the city. The start of construction is therefore likely to take place in 2021.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Former Mayor Ole von Beust advises Elbtower developer , Abendblatt.de from August 29, 2018
  2. ↑ “Elbtower” gets even higher Hamburg's new dream view , mopo.de from November 24, 2018
  3. ↑ SIGNA builds Elbtower based on a design by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin. Retrieved March 10, 2018 .
  4. ^ "Elbtower" - An elegant high-rise icon for Hamburg. Retrieved February 8, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Elbtower gets even higher Hamburg's new dream view , November 24, 2018, Hamburger Morgenpost
  6. ↑ 235 meter high "Elbtower" in the Hafencity: Hamburg gets the third-highest building in Germany . ( handelsblatt.com [accessed on March 2, 2018]).
  7. ↑ Elbtower plans: How did the deal with the Ösi billionaire go? Retrieved March 7, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Citizenship printed matter 21/14277 - Google search. Retrieved March 7, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Oliver Schirg: Too high? Hamburg fights over the "Elbtower". Hamburger Abendblatt, March 10, 2017, accessed on March 15, 2017 .
  10. ↑ Markus Lorenz: “megalomania” or “great opportunity”: this is how Hamburg reacts to the “Elbtower”. SHZ, March 10, 2017, accessed March 15, 2017 .
  11. ↑ "Elbtower" - Hamburg is building mega-high-rise buildings in HafenCity. DIE WELT, March 8, 2017, accessed March 15, 2017 .
  12. ↑ Application of EU procurement rules for the construction of the "Elbtower" in Hamburg. Accessed December 1, 2018 .
  13. ↑ Question for written answer P-006345-18 , europarl.europa.eu (accessed on January 19, 2019)
  14. ↑ Mike Schlink: Same investor: Will the Karstadt crisis tear Hamburg's Elbtower into the abyss? Hamburger Morgenpost , June 20, 2020, accessed on July 12, 2020 .
  15. ^ NDR: Citizenship paves the way for the "Elbtower". Retrieved June 25, 2019 .
  16. ^ NDR: New demands: Does the "Elbtower" wobble? Retrieved June 25, 2019 .

Coordinates: 53 ° 32 ′ 5.1 ″  N , 10 ° 1 ′ 33.9 ″  E