HafenCity Hamburg - half-time at Europe's largest urban development project

With HafenCity, an entirely new district is being created in Hamburg on an area of 157 hectares from a former port area. The entire construction project is scheduled for completion in 2025.

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Covering an area 6.5 km long and 1 km wide, the project develops from west to east. The area of Hamburg's city center, which is not far away, is thus increased by 40%. With an investment volume of more than €12.5 billion, an urban development project that has attracted attention far beyond Europe's borders has been under construction since 2000. Renowned architects such as Behnisch Architekten, gmp von Gerkan, Mark und Partner, Herzog & De Meuron, Ingenhoven Architekten, KSP Engel Architekten, npt tochoban voss and Richard Meier & Partners have drawn inspiration for their designs from the red clinker facades of Speicherstadt and the mature port structures.

Warfts instead of dikes

The Elbe is fully exposed to the tides. As a result, flood protection in general has great importance. Like the 19th-century Speicherstadt warehouse district, HafenCity is also located in the flood zone. Nevertheless, it is not to be diked so as not to cut it off from the water. With the exception of the quay and waterfront promenades, the area will be raised to about 8 meters above sea level. This mound concept preserves the view and access to the water for the former harbor and industrial area and preserves the typical harbor milieu while providing flood protection.

In-situ concrete construction expertise

Steel, glass, wood and, above all, in-situ concrete, some of it in the form of exposed concrete of the highest quality, are used in the architecturally appealing projects. Right from the start, the Doka Formwork Experts have been on board with their expertise and know-how in the field of modern formwork technology. In most cases, the nearby Doka branch in Hamburg is the construction companies' first port of call for constructive cooperation.

Important projects were created exclusively or largely with Doka formwork, including:

Germany's largest underground car park

Doka supplied wall column and slab formwork for Germany's largest underground car park with 3,400 parking spaces in Überseequartier. Framed formwork Framax Xlife was used here in panel assemblies measuring 53.5 m², at 6.60 m high and 8.10 m wide, for 40 cm thick exterior walls. Dokaflex slab formwork was convincing for the up to 45 cm thick floor slabs. On this site alone, 45,000 m³ of concrete were expertly placed in the formwork.

Two underground stations on the new U4

Doka also supplied the formwork for the two underground stations of the U4 located in the HafenCity area. At the Überseequartier station, a specially planned solution that nevertheless came from the rentable construction kit was used as a formwork carriage for 10.25 m high walls.

The HafenCity University stop received craneless movable support frames for single-sided walls 10.60 m high. Special heavy-duty wheels allowed the 15-ton units to be moved forward smoothly to the next cycle.

Formwork technology today for projects of tomorrow

A good 10 years after construction began, work is about half complete. Some buildings have already been occupied. At the end of 2012, the U4 subway line will go into operation, linking Hauptbahnhof with the two new stops "Überseequartier" and "HafenCity University" via two tunnel tubes in just a few minutes' travel time. Gerhard Villinger, Head of Doka's Hamburg branch emphasizes: "Doka has already submitted cost-effective formwork concepts for some of the projects still to be executed. We want to continue to be a reliable partner in the construction of HafenCity Hamburg."

Construction panel - Hafen-City, Hamburg

Project:	HafenCity Hamburg
Construction period:	2003 - 2025
Gross floor area:	2.3 million m²
of which living space:	0.7 million m²
of which commercial space:	0.2 million m²
of which office space:	1.1 million m²
of which culture & other:	0.3 million m²
Construction projects:	84
of which completed today:	49
Public transport:	U-Bahn, length 4 km
U-Bahn stations:	2
Formwork design:	Doka-NL Hamburg, Doka-NL Berlin