Engel & Völkers Headquarters, Hamburg Building, German Architecture, Photos, Architect, Design

Engel & Völkers Headquarters Hamburg

Mixed-use Architecture Development – design by Richard Meier & Partners Architects

12 Dec 2017

Engel & Völkers Headquarters and Apartments in Hamburg

In the second quarter of 2018 the firm will celebrate the completion of the new Engel & Völkers Headquarters and Apartments in Hamburg, Germany. While following the urban requirements of the HafenCity district, the building provides a new perspective on the usual disposition of the courtyard typology.

27 Sep 2016

Engel & Völkers Headquarters Development

Design: Richard Meier & Partners Architects

Location: Hamburg, Germany

Richard Meier & Partners Architect designs new apartments and the new Engel & Völkers Headquarters in Hamburg Hafencity

Images: bloomimages

The architecture firm was selected in 2013 following an international competition, involving Foster + Partners and Zaha Hadid Architects.

Richard Meier & Partners is pleased to celebrate the design and construction of the new apartments and headquarters for Engel & Völkers in Hamburg, Germany.

The mixed-use building is the most recent development in Hamburg’s HafenCity by the Firm and it will combine the new Engel & Völkers headquarters, luxury condominiums, and rental apartments.

Behind the project stands a joint venture between the renowned property developer Quantum Immobilien AG and Engel & Völkers AG named Quartier am Strandkai GmbH & Co. KG.

The exclusive “STRANDHAUS by Richard Meier” condominiums have been conceived of as a 16-storey residential tower with its own separate entrance. The third to 15th floors will consist of 66 unique apartments while the 16th floor will offer two large penthouses at the top.

In addition to the building structure, Richard Meier & Partners has also designed significant interior details. These include open and spacious, light-flooded interiors with ceiling-height doors and floor-to-ceiling windows open to the city, the Elbe River, and the city port. Residents of these apartments will also enjoy access to a private gym situated on the 16th floor with panoramic views of Hamburg.

Bernhard Karpf, design partner-in-charge, comments: “The early history of our office is rooted in the design of some of the most iconic residential projects. This project continues the tradition of minimalist and light-filled spaces and of the continuous and clear organization of the intricate program requirements of a mixed-use building.

“Natural light is the main building material, and the main characteristic of the interior spaces is their openness and transparency. They are filled with natural light and animated by the connection to the port, the city and the street life around the HafenCity district. Each floor of the development is a study in balancing transparency and natural light with various degrees of privacy required for the residential and office interiors.”

The Engel & Völkers headquarters is another component of the development with a total floor space of approx. 6,800 square meters. “Our new company headquarters is set to become a building where the Engel & Völkers brand can be experienced,” said Christian Völkers, CEO/ Founder of Engel & Völkers AG. The core of the offices will be the double-height entrance lobby, which is envisioned as a place where employees as well as visitors can come together to converse and enjoy the public space. The five levels above the entrance and lobby are designated for office space and will also become the new home of the Engel & Völkers Academy. “The color white is a fundamental part of Richard Meier & Partners inimitable style – a color that is also dominant throughout Engel & Völkers branding,” said Christian Völkers.

Site Plan ; Ground Floor Plan ; First Floor Plan:

The shell construction of the four-level underground garage beneath the new building complex is now complete, and due to the proximity to the Elbe River, an elaborate construction technique had to be employed. The technique is usually implemented on major infrastructure projects such as underground train links. “Besides the technical challenges, the planning phase has also had to take the varied uses of the building ensemble into account. The final design is a good solution that safeguards the functionality of individual areas while ensuring an attractive overall appearance,” said Philipp Schmitz-Morkramer, Founder and CEO of Quantum Immobilien AG, the project developer. The next phase of the project will be the structural construction and fitting of the above-ground structure.

Building Section ; Typical Floor Plan ; Typical Floor Plan 8-10:

The 16-storey ensemble is expected to be completed in 2018, and it aspires to contribute to the redevelopment of Hamburg’s HafenCity district and to the skyline of the city. Richard Meier & Partners has designed over 20 buildings in Germany, including the recently completed Arp Museum in Rolandseck and the award-winning Coffee Plaza in Hamburg.

Engel & Völkers HQ Hamburg – Building Information

Major Building Materials: Metal panel, clear & frosted glass, stucco, and wood & stone flooring
Program: Offices, Atrium and Public Lobby, Condominiums, Rental Apartments, Retail and Commercial Space, Underground Parking, and Rooftop Playground
Floors: 7 Floors for Offices and Rental Apartments, 16 Floors for Condominiums
Floor Area: 34,750 sqm (374,045 SFT); 21,900 sqm (235,725 SFT) Above Ground

Competition Project Credits
Design Principals: Richard Meier and Bernhard Karpf
Project Architects: Parsa Khalili and Anne Strüwing
Collaborators: Kevin Browning, Bori Kang, Amalia Rusconi-Clerici and Steven Sze

Construction Project Credits
Project Manager: Ringo Offermann
Project Architect: Anne Strüwing
Collaborators: Kevin Browning, Pablo Costa, Alejandro Guerrero, Henry Jarzabkowski, Bori Kang, Aung Thu Kyaw, Sharon Oh and Steven Sze
Owners: Quartier am Strandkai GmbH & Co. KG

14 Jan 2013

Engel & Völkers Headquarters Development News

Hamburg, Germany

Design: Richard Meier & Partners Architects

Engel & Völkers Headquarters in Hamburg by Richard Meier

New York, NY – January 14, 2013 _ Following an international competition, Richard Meier & Partners Architects has been selected to design a new mixed-use building in Hamburg Germany. Under the Richard Meier & Partners plan – one of three competing proposals – the site will become a remarkable place to work, live and relax in the HafenCity district.

images from architect

Engel & Völkers’ new headquarters in Hamburg is a building with a unique approach presented by the classic problem of transparency, organization, and form within a courtyard building typology. While following the urban requirements of HafenCity district, the seven-story building block with a taller vertical building volume on the northwest corner—complementing the neighboring Marco Polo Tower—provides a new perspective on the usual disposition of the courtyard type that provides a distinctive and identifiable architectural design for the Engel & Völkers companies.

Bernhard Karpf, Design Partner-in-charge, comments: “By treating the exterior appearance with restraint elegance and by articulating the interior courtyard and atrium through a series of more expressive elements the building turns itself inside out in correspondence with the clients’ request of an inviting and identifiable headquarters building.”

images from architect

The design of the headquarters began with a pairing of the courtyard building with the organizational system of a hybrid building that contains a multiplicity of different programmatic uses such as apartments, training academy, offices and retail spaces within a singular and identifiable building. The organization of these various disparate programmatic uses are planned uniquely to provide the maximum benefits for each use in plan and section.

The exterior of the building reads as a continuous and evenly articulated shell with elaborations that trace the internal differences of the project. The interior contains and reveals a series of shared experiences of its disparate parts.

The undulating ceiling which caps the atrium divides the public domain (training academy, shop, café, gallery) below from the private functions (residential, office) above but also unifies them through the dramatic interior landscape it creates. This element is revealed on the exterior of the building in key moments as invitation to come through the building. The ceiling plane transforms into and becomes the horizontal extension of a cone which serves to both light the atrium space and provide vertical circulation. It becomes an architectural feature and a sculptural piece which activates the courtyard above the atrium; it stitches together all of the programmatic functions of the project and gives an iconicity for the building, radiating out to the urban context.

images from architect

Richard Meier & Partners was selected following an international competition, involving Foster + Partners and Zaha Hadid Architects. The new building is projected to open by 2015.

Richard Meier comments:
“We have worked in Germany for more than 30 years, starting with the Museum for the Decorative Arts in Frankfurt and most recently with the Coffee Plaza building also in the HafenCity Development in Hamburg. We are delighted to be selected to design the new headquarters for Engel & Völkers. Our proposal reflects a continuous, open and clear organization of the intricate program requirements. The project accommodates various qualities of space and light, making for an architecture that is not only monumental but visually and functionally sensitive.

We greatly look forward to building the new Engel & Völkers complex and we hope to continue contributing to the rich urban fabric of Hamburg.”

Engel & Völkers Headquarters information / images received from Richard Meier & Partners Architects

Richard Meier

Location: HafenCity, Hamburg, Germany