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Hamburg is the eighth city we have surveyed in the CityPlan series. After places like Dublin, Milan, New York, Guadalajara, Istanbul, Cairo and London, we return to another city of the Old Continent, one that in recent years has been in the architectural and urban development spotlight for its ongoing regeneration master plan - the largest in Europe - of his former docklands on the northern banks of the river Elbe. The new contemporary quarter known as HafenCity will be completed in 2020.
As is the custom, Hamburg, whose development policy is based on its specific geographical and landscape characteristics, will be considered through the lens of four density maps showing the distribution of the resident population, general services, public transport, and public parks.
With a population of almost 2 million, Hamburg is clearly separated both functionally and morphologically into two distinct parts. To the north of the river Elbe is the old city, once a veritable open-air market. North of this historic nucleus is the modern residential district. The density map shows a broad service offering in this area with the highest concentration of schools, hospitals, retail activities, hotels, restaurants and all those amenities that make for urban quality of life. On the opposite, southern banks of the Elbe lies Hamburg’s vast port, the trading heart of the city and second in importance only to Rotterdam. The port accounts for more than 50% of the entire metropolitan surface area.
The Elbe has always been an integral part of Hamburg, defining the city’s very shape and extension. Its brackish waters are indicative of the fact that it is really neither sea nor river. Perhaps for this reason it has been an inextricable feature since the first human settlements, as it will continue to be in the future.
HafenCity is located on the northern bank of the Elbe. One of the most interesting examples of urban regeneration in Europe, it will continue to...
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Material Assemblages and Literal Embodiments: an Environmental Perspective of the Building Envelope
Alejandro Zaera-Polo
While the façade is one of the most theorized architectural elements, the idea of the façade has been in question since at least the end of the ni...
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You approach the new, stealthily-sited Tula House through thickets of green and between outcrops of raw rock. You have most likely arrived at Quadra I...
