Meier Partners

The Coffee Plaza in Hamburg’s HafenCity is planned as a unique center for international coffee commerce and related lines of business. The project encompasses the design of the headquarters for one of the largest coffee trading companies worldwide and two office buildings with rentable areas as well as a public plaza and underground parking. The site is part of the ambitious new Masterplan to redevelop Hamburg’s post-industrial port into a viable business, commercial and cultural center and is currently the largest urban development project in Europe. The project’s location next to Sandtorpark and in line with the Magellan Terraces directly overlooks the Sandtorhafen in the western HafenCity and allows it to function as a hub for city life, leisurely pursuits, and business activity.

Situated on a podium overlooking the sandtorpark, an oval-shaped tower creates a partition between the park and the plaza. With a gross area of 15,4000 square meters on 12 floors, the building houses eleven upper floors of office space and an additional penthouse level, labeled as a “sculptural roofscape” with conference rooms and breathtaking views. The tower property also includes three subterranean levels designated for parking and technical spaces. A number of innovative features were developed specifically for the tower. New mechanical systems and facades were carefully designed to minimize energy consumption while providing a working environment with natural ventilation and daylight; and vertical glass louvers were used on the south and west elevations that rotate with the sun providing shade and minimizing heat gain.

Framing the plaza, two additional structures complete the ensemble. Each building comprises a ground floor, six upper-floor levels, and a roof terrace as well as two subterranean levels designated for parking and technical spaces. Both ground floors allocate space for retail use. All three buildings feature flexible floor layouts.

The relationship of the buildings to the urban context is of vital importance. The complex and plaza form a sculptural border to the development’s expansive open spaces, and the three buildings rise from the elevated plaza and delineate the city block, giving a sense of place and community to the area.