The Japanese corporation Olympus is planning a corporate center in the Hamburg district of Hammerbrook for the economic zone in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Von Gerkan, Marg and Partners Architects (gmp) were successful in winning the bidding process for the design of the new office building with medical engineering faculty in the City Süd neighborhood, and was commissioned with the project. The new Olympus Campus development replaces a smaller building, which no longer meets current standards in terms of function, energy efficiency, and architecture.
The concept includes three distinct building volumes; the main building with eleven stories occupies the spine position, with two L-shaped tracts connecting to it. By slightly offsetting these elements from each other, small forecourts are created, which mark the separate entrances. The prestigious main entrance is positioned at the building corner first encountered when approaching from Heidenkampsweg. The roofed-over atrium of the Olympus Campus is accessed via the large foyer. An open staircase leads to the level of the training and conference center. The office units are accessed via a total of seven vertical circulation cores and, with their layout, provide a high degree of flexibility for various use scenarios; designed for a multi-space concept, with a depth of 14.5 meters the building can be used for open plan offices, as well as for layouts with one or two inner access corridors.
The facade features clinker bricks that are typical of the location. Above the plinth area, the design visually groups two or three stories together. Glazed joints separate the three main building volumes, thereby providing structure to the overall appearance and creating a sense of scale of the different elements. The functionality of the design is enhanced by a highly efficient building envelope, natural window ventilation, and excellent daylight at all workplaces. The sustainability concept takes the DGNB requirements into account.
In the 1980s, the “City Süd” commercial estate was developed in the Hammerbrook district in order to provide alternative office accommodation close to Hamburg’s inner city. There is currently a change in the approach to the design of service facilities, in that multi-functional quarters with high density are favored over mono-functional developments. The new construction for Olympus continues this urbanization process and replaces a smaller existing building. The new development will occupy the entire site, which up to now had various ad hoc buildings.
Project Details:
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Area: 78,200 sqm, above ground 54,600 sqm, below ground 23,600 sqm
Client: Olympus Europa Properties GmbH & Co. KG
Design: Meinhard von Gerkan and Nikolaus Goetze with Volkmar Sievers
Project manager: Jan Stolte
Competition design team: Aleksandra Blazhevska, Mathilde Claus, Anna Falkenbach, Dorle Frobese,
Frederik Heisel, Julian Lahme, Karsten Schillings, Tom Schülke, Michèle Watenphul, Urs Wedekind
Detailed design team: Mine Böker (BIM coordination), Mathilde Claus, Frederik Heisel, Martina Klostermann, Fenja Lüdecke, Amra Sternberg
General design coordinator: Liselotte Knall
