Program: A public plaza featuring a 12-story, 86,004-square-foot office tower for the coffee trading company Neumann Gruppe, two 7-story towers at 52,689 square feet and 47,684 square feet, and 105,109 square feet of underground parking and mechanical space spread over three underground levels. The main tower includes a coffee lounge and cafeteria on the fifth floor, a restaurant on the ground floor, and three rooftop conference rooms. Developed in conjunction with the Swedish property company Norrporten, the two secondary buildings offer leasable space aimed at other coffee industry businesses, with retail space on the ground floor. Coffee Plaza, which borders a new park by EMBT Architects, is part of the HafenCity plan to redevelop Hamburg's postindustrial port into a hub for business, commerce, and culture.

Design concept and solution: Richard Meier & Partners Architects wanted to increase the visibility of Neumann, which previously had its headquarters nearby in a generic 1950s office building. The original master plan for the site called for a more nondescript office block with buildings of equal heights. The architects gave the Neumann building prominence with an oval-shaped tower and brought all three buildings closer together, expanding the size of the neighboring park. The reinforced concrete tower has a floor-to-ceiling double-glass facade, the outer layer of which extends above the roof height to shield the roof deck from wind. To create open, flexible office layouts, the architects chose a lateral core for each building. In the main tower, glass partitions divide the oval floor plans into offices, allowing daylight through; some floors do away with the partitions altogether. The interiors are finished in Meier's customary white, set off by nearly black carpets in the offices and dark gray granite floors in the restrooms, staircases, and elevator lobbies.

Architect
Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP
475 10th Avenue, 6 Fl.
New York, New York 10018
Tel 212 967 6060
Fax 212 967 3207

Completion Date:
October 2010

Location:
Am Sandtorpark 4 20457
Hamburg, Germany

Total construction cost:
€37 million