The Kontorhaus District The Chilehaus Imprint The Kontorhaus district to the No textbook on 20th century packed sequence of the pillars, List of Figures north of the Customs Canal and architecture is complete without required by the internal fl oor plan, thus immediately adjacent to the Chilehaus, which was built for the artistic design of the 1 L. Wendemuth, W. Böttcher, Der 17 Chilehaus 1924, reproduction the Speicherstadt, which was between 1922 and 1924 by Fritz façades. Inside, the building provi- Hafen von Hamburg, Hamburg of a photography by Dransfeld constructed primarily in the Höger and is regarded as an icon ded fl exibility with the division of 1928, Meissner & Christiansen Brothers 1920s and 1930s, is characte- of architectural expressionism. Its fl oor space, vital for a modern 2 Section through a traditional Chilehaus, detail, Wikimedia rised by a considerable degree signifi cance as such derives from rented offi ce building, and could Hamburg town house, Katharinen- Commons, Foto: Wolfgang of homogeneity, which can be both the characteristic detailing of therefore be adapted to the needs straße 10/11, Hermann Hipp, Freie Meinhart experienced to this day, thanks its brick façades and its striking of different users. In oblique view, und Hansestadt Hamburg, Köln to its mainly large-scale buil- shape – the way it spans Fischer- the tightly packed sequence of 1989 18 Zentralblatt der Bauverwal- dings with clinker façades, some 15 Mohlenhof twiete; its curved, S-shaped pillars gives the impression of a tung 45, 1925 fi lling an entire block and fea- façade on the Meßberg side; and, calm, apparently windowless Ground plan of a traditional turing expressionist and sober above all, its eastern tip, which expanse of wall, which heightens Hamburg town house, Katharinen- All other photos: straße 10, Rudhard, Wolfgang, Das shapes. As the fi rst dedicated At that time, buildings of compara- recalls the prow of a ship. the monumental feel of the Bürgerhaus in Hamburg, Tübingen Staatsarchiv, Sabine Ganczarsky, offi ce district on the European ble conceptual and design quality building. The brick piers protruding continent, it distils previous Furthermore, by exploiting the from the façade at a 45°-angle 1975 Nicolai Wieckmann 12 Messberghof could only be found in the USA. Yet, 16 Chilehaus experience in the planning and in contrast to offi ce block architec- construction possibilities offered follow their own internal rhythm, 3 Plan of the Brookinseln before by reinforced concrete, and com- design of offi ce buildings. ture elsewhere in the world at that with the rotation of every seventh the demolition of the existing Editor time, which was characterised by bining them with traditional brick- layer of bricks, so that when building development in 1883, Rita Clasen The buildings of the core zone, the the Beaux-Arts style or other histori- work, Höger developed in the closely observed from an angle a below: with transformation owing WORLD HERITAGE HAMBURG Dr. Agnes Seemann Chilehaus, Messberghof, Sprinken- cised forms, Hamburg’s buildings Chilehaus a modern, ground- diagonal pattern can be seen on to the construction of the hof and Mohlenhof, which consti- already displayed modern clinker breaking building structure. With the wall of pillars. Speicherstadt and with coloured Translation tute an urban ensemble, are striking façades in expressionist shapes virtually unsurpassable virtuoso SPEICHERSTADT AND KONTORHAUS DISTRICT indication of the projected and the Niels Hamdorf for their quality. Particular impor- which, in the Chilehaus and the design and craftsmanship, he In addition to its artistic wall realized construction phases: red tance was attached to having Sprinkenhof, achieved an almost created a modern style of brick design, the building boasts cera- 1885-88, blue 1891-96, green Design WITH CHILEHAUS offi ce-building architecture, the mic façade decorations by the fl exible fl oor plans, meaning that as unsurpassable degree of virtuosity 1899-1927. The purple-coloured Rita Clasen like of which the world had never sculptor Richard Kuöhl, who also far as possible load-bearing internal in terms of design and craftsman- blocks on the Ericusspitze have not Bianca Flamming 13 Staircases: Messberghof (left), Sprinkenhof (right) walls were to be avoided, which is ship. The Messberghof, which was seen. created the terracotta design in been realized. Die Hamburger the imposing entrance areas and Altstadt why the offi ce buildings were fi rst built with virtually no decoration or Freihafen-Lagerhausgesellschaft 1 Höger achieved this by using both staircases. 2 erected as skeleton structures, sub-division of its façades, so that 1885–1910. Denkschrift zum Bernd Paulowitz the marked mirroring and refl ec- with infrastructure such as stair- ultimately little remained on view 25-jährigen Jubiläum, Hamburg Burchardplatz Ludwig-Erhard-Straße tive effect of the irregularly fi red World Heritage Coordinator Johanniswall wells and sanitary facilities concen- apart from two-dimensional clinker 1910 Depenau 4 clinker bricks and the tightly Ministry of Culture 13 trated in compact core areas. Dis- brickwork, was one of the fi rst buil- Willy-Brandt-Straße Meßberg1a 4 Architekten- und Ingenieur-Verein Department for Heritage tinguishing features of Hamburg’s Altstadt dings in the world to pave the way 3 Zollkanal zu Hamburg (Hrsg.), Hamburg und Preservation 1 12 2 Oberhafen Kontorhaus tradition were, on the for the New Objectivity movement. W Oberbaumbrücke fleet S brookfleet seine Bauten, 1928 Große Bleichen 30 rahms- X one hand, modern access arrange- The Mohlenhof, with its relatively U P 17 Chilehaus, detail and architectural sculptures, created by Richard Kuöhl Burchardplatz Holländisch-V Wand- Ludwig-Erhard-Straße Bei den Mühren R Ericusgraben 20354 Hamburg Johanniswall Q Brooktorkai ments thanks to paternoster lifts 5 Zollkanal bare, fl at façades can, in fact, H 6 HHLA Immobilien Depenau 7 Baumwall Niederbaumbr. Binnenhafen G 4 [email protected] Kehrwiedersteg Kehrwieder 13 E Brooktorhafen Willy-Brandt-Straße Meßberg and, on the other hand, the high already be classifi ed as an example D Brooksfleet O 1a N M fleet Kehrwieder- L 7 Aus dem Hamburger Freihafen- K Am Sandtorkai Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg standard of the buildings’ design. of New Objectivity. Even from an 3 Zollkanal Ministry of Culture 12 Am Sandtorkai Department for Heritage Preservation 6 Magdeburger Hafen Oberbaumbrücke Oberhafen 11 gebiet, Hamburg 1888, Strumper & www.hamburg.de/welterbeW 10 Map of the World Heritage application This is evident not only in their international perspective, the buil- fleet Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus district with Chilehaus S brookfleet Sandtorhafen rahms- X Legend U Nominated property P Co. Holländisch-V artistic adornment, with their care- Wand- Speicherstadt dings in the core zone of the Kon- Bei den Mühren R Ericusgraben Areas 5 Q Brooktorkai Zollkanal H 7 9 Water areas Baumwall Buffer zone fully designed and often elaborately Binnenhafen G Niederbaumbr. torhaus district are thus among the Kehrwiedersteg Kehrwieder E Brooktorhafen 8 Visual axes D Brooksfleet O 9 Carl Koppmann N 1 Visual axes number M fleet Projection: UTM32 detailed clinker façades, but also in most signifi cant achievements of Kehrwieder- L V.i.S.d.P.: Andreas Kellner Position reference system : ETRS89 K Am Sandtorkai Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg Ministry of Culture Map background: DSGK (LGV, Oktober 2011) Am Sandtorkai Department for Heritage Preservation Magdeburger Hafen Scale: 1:4.992 6 11 E l b e Meter the lavishly furnished hallways and 10 Map of the World Heritage application offi ce block architecture of the 15 Wolfgang Voigt 0 50 100 150 200 250 ¸ Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus district with Chilehaus Sandtorhafen Legend staircases, the design of which 1920s and, being works by major © 2017 Nominated property Speicherstadt Areas 16 Union Invest Real Estate 9 Water areas sometimes verged on the ostenta- architects, are also of considerable Buffer zone 8 Visual axes 1 Visual axes number Projection: UTM32 tious. artistic importance. Position reference system : ETRS89 Map background: DSGK (LGV, Oktober 2011) Scale: 1:4.992 E l b e Meter 0 50 100 150 200 250 ¸ 14 Sprinkenhof 18 Chilehaus ground plan, ground fl oor 19 Chilehaus entrance hall Hamburg Historical Background to the Building of the Hamburg’s Transformation into a Modern City Hamburg’s Speicherstadt Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District In the world’s metropolises, the contributed to the displacement of industrialisation and incipient globa- the residential population. The Hamburg’s Speicherstadt, with its is also characteristic of the In the 19th century, the pace of Europe. Fresh impetus was lisation of the economy and trade at process was further accelerated by numerous warehouses and func- Speicherstadt’s architecture. Yet the economic and trade globalisation provided by the city’s full incor- the end of the 19th and beginning the clearance of the city centre tional buildings and its specifically result was not a schematic and aus- began to quicken, driven by colo- poration into the German of the 20th centuries was accom- slums, the so-called Alleyway planned functional, architectural and tere warehouse complex, but rather nialism and economic liberalism, Customs Union in 1888 and the panied by a new phase of urban district (Gängeviertel), in the wake urban structure with cobbled a highly adorned and varied ensem- and boosted by industrialisation, consequent expansion and development, namely the forma- of the cholera epidemic of 1892. In streets, waterways, bridges and ble, using predominantly neo-Go- new technologies, more exten- modernisation of the port, as tion of the modern city. This their stead in the Old Town came railway connections, was created thic architectural forms to make a sive production, the division of part of which the Speicherstadt process overtook an increasing mainly office blocks rather than between 1885 and 1927 in three strong impression as an urban labour, and the ability to trans- was created. Within just two number of city centres around the new residential accommodation.