WITTE is handling project control on behalf of Marquard & Bahls

35-metre-high bridging structure completed for future urban balcony

Hamburg. Marquard & Bahls AG, WITTE Projektmanagement and further companies involved in the construction today celebrate the topping-out ceremony for the new corporate head office of Marquard & Bahls AG in Hamburg. A new office building with around 18,000 square metres of gross floor space and room for approx. 700 employees is being built at Koreastraße 7 in HafenCity. The building, with eight floors and two basement levels, will be ready for occupancy in the second quarter of 2016.

Challenge: urban balcony
A large urban balcony will open up the centre of the building – a three-storey expanse of over 35 metres including a terrace that stretches from the interior courtyard towards the harbour. This urban balcony will offer a view of the water even from the south wing of the modern brick building. "After the very complex substructure work, because of the property's location bordered by water on several sides, the planning of and work on the bridging structure for the urban balcony represented a further challenge for planners and executing firms," says Andreas Dimke, project manager for WITTE Projektmanagement Hamburg. The very demanding steel construction was completed in July 2015. "The support structure was designed in such a way that the entire bridge can support itself. The open window onto the water will be a highlight for employees and visitors." But that is not all: the building will also feature a boat dock at the Brooktorhafen harbour, with a lift and direct access from the water level to the ground floor.

Objective: as many contracts as possible to companies in the region
The construction, quality and efficiency processes are controlled and directed by WITTE Projektmanagement in very close cooperation and partnership with the client. The architectural services were provided by Gewers & Pudewill GPAI GmbH, Berlin. "With this construction project, it was and is important to us is that as many contracts as possible be awarded to companies from the region, from Germany's north," explains Jörg Neetzke, head of Asset Management at Marquard & Bahls. The next milestone is the completion of the brick façade with an extraordinary design, which must be tailored to the building precisely without being cut. The fitout has already begun. HafenCity Ecolabel Gold certification is planned.