A new icon for Hamburg

Henning Larsen Architects underway with new office complex in Germany Henning Larsen Architects is constructing the new Spiegel Headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. The 50,000 sq m media and journalism headquarters is located in HafenCity, an immense new inner‐city development project. The topping out ceremony for Spiegel HQ took place on 23 September; the inauguration of the headquarters is scheduled for summer 2011. Spiegel HQ comprises two U‐shaped buildings. The Der Spiegel building encloses an internal space oriented toward the city centre of Hamburg. The Spiegel building signifies a gateway into HafenCity from Hamburg Central Station and Brooktorkai. The Ericus Contor building contains an exposed outdoor space connected to Hamburg's Lohsepark. The Ericus building is a central component of HafenCity's immense new park development. Located at the gateway of HafenCity, Spiegel HQ visually connects and contrasts with Herzog & de Meuron's Elbphilharmonie building to the west. The Spiegel building and Ericus building sculpt two distinct plazas: one arrival plaza for pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles from Brooktorkai and one public leisure plaza connected with the waterfront promenade. Sustainability and energy efficiency have played a crucial role in the conception of Spiegel HQ. The project has been preapproved for the Hamburg Gold Medal of environmentally sustainable buildings. Spiegel HQ achieves numerous criteria for the Hamburg Gold Medal: optimised energy consumption, intelligent utilisation of public resources, selection of sustainable building materials, and creation of a healthy and comfortable professional environment. The energy consumption of Spiegel HQ will be approximately 80 Kwh per sq m every year. Key technology for the limitation of energy consumption in Spiegel HQ includes extensive application of solar and geothermal facilities and an effective heating/cooling system integrated within concrete floor slabs. The assertive angular appearance of Spiegel HQ is inspired by aerodynamic nautical sales; each structure defines and simultaneously embraces the spliced urban surroundings. The Spiegel building and Ericus building embody robust legible figures. As commercial icons, the two buildings solidly unify Hamburg's harbour and city centre.