Elbbrücken Quarter

The design envisages an ensemble consisting of a compact urban volume and a tower connected by a uniform façade. This continuous texture is created by the comprehensive use of rhythmically recurring, diagonally offset façade modules made of oxide-red recycled concrete.
Three-dimensional tectonic shifts in the façade deftly highlight important architectural features – such as the entrance area and large meeting rooms – and make them accessible to the visitor.
To complement the façade’s red hue, the proposal envisages that the shaded north side of the building will gradually become covered in a layer of moss, allowing for the sustainable cooling of the office spaces. In close cooperation with Arup Germany, GRAFT has developed concepts that ensure a high degree of sustainability and a resource-efficient use of materials, an active façade
and closed-cycle building technologies. An energy recovery system of capillary tube mats will be integrated into the façade elements. These elements, made of recycled fibre concrete, were devised by Rieder and but rejected by the client in the two-phase process.

Rising at the north-eastern corner of the building towards Versmannstraße, the tower reacts to the urban volume of the neighbouring building. Where the tower intersects with the main cubic body, the building shell widens accordingly, lending a special quality to the protruding meeting rooms. From here, the view from within is drawn to the skyline of the HafenCity. The building’s cubic form, clearly recognisable from afar, enters into a dialogue with the city.

In a similar manner, the main entrance area on Versmannstraße creates an inviting access to the building, encouraging people to visit the centrally located conference and event area.

The third part of the building is located to the east of the main body, where a fully glazed section breaks up the exposed concrete façade, creating an orangery. Taking up the programmatic theme of the main volume, its greenhouse function is an integral component of the proposed biophilic design approach. Here, the winter-garden typology will become a place for flexible spaces and alternative working practices integrated into the more conventional office areas situated behind the exposed concrete façade.