Contract signing with project developer MOMENI The architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp) have been commissioned to design offices, commercial units and apartments in an existing and a new building on the former Axel Springer area in Hamburg. With a gross floor area of 54,000 square meters, the planned “Springer Quartier” is one of the most ambitious building projects in Hamburg’s inner city. The high-rise slab building – designed by Ferdinand Streb – is listed as an important historic building dating from Hamburg’s post-war era.
Last year in October, the Hamburg MOMENI group acquired two of the three parts of the site owned by the publisher Axel Springer, and commissioned gmp with the design of the development. The listed existing building will be modernized and the central plot will be used for a new building with offices and commercial units. The publisher sold the plot to the east of the site to the Hamburg-Mitte city administration; it is therefore not part of the development.
The first phase of the project will deal with the refurbishment of the listed high-rise building, which – as head building – gives the development its identity. The high-rise slab was built in the 1950s to a design by Ferdinand Streb and is one of the area’s iconic landmarks of the post-war era. On the 12th floor of the building the publisher Axel Springer had his office, which is still there today with its original furnishing. The 50 meter high building will be given a new exterior skin that meets the latest requirements for energy efficiency. The interior of the high-rise slab will also be completely refurbished in line with modern office standards. However, the structure and proportions of the 10,000 square meter historic monument will be retained in their original form. Following its completion, which is scheduled for the end of 2018, the publisher will move in with those sections that have remained in Hamburg.
The second phase of the development comprises a new building between Kaiser-Wilhelm-Strasse and Fuhlentwiete, which is also going to be designed by gmp. The 54,000 square meter gross floor area will accommodate offices and, on the first floor, mostly commercial units and restaurants in this central location. In addition, the new building will include housing. Two units – the new building and the existing high-rise slab – form an architectural ensemble. The building lines will provide new emphasis to the block, which in its exterior form is redefined by a new, textured natural stone facade reminiscent of the architectural language of the 1950s, and at the same time with the sovereignty of a modern new build. The material was chosen to replicate the texture and color scheme of the original block. Courtyards forming recesses in the block provide light to the surrounding offices. In addition, a new pedestrian lane between the new and the adjoining buildings will make it possible for the public to cross the site, and will thereby benefit retailers and restaurants in the development.
