Kontorhaus District

Last updated • 5 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Kontorhaus District
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria Cultural: iv
Reference 1467
Inscription2015 (39th Session)
Area26.08 ha
Buffer zone56.17 ha
Coordinates 53°32′44″N9°59′58″E / 53.54556°N 9.99944°E / 53.54556; 9.99944
Relief Map of Germany.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Kontorhaus District in Germany
Hamburg relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Kontorhaus District (Hamburg)
Aerial view of the Kontorhaus District Hamburg.Skylift.Kontorhausviertel.Legende.wmt.jpg
Aerial view of the Kontorhaus District
Map of Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District Karte Weltkulturerbe Speicherstadt und Kontorhausviertel mit Chilehaus.png
Map of Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District

The Kontorhaus District is the southeastern part of Altstadt, Hamburg, between Steinstraße, Meßberg, Klosterwall and Brandstwiete. The streetscape is characterised by large office buildings in the style of Brick Expressionism of the early 20th century.

Contents

Since 5 July 2015, parts of the Kontorhaus district and the adjacent Speicherstadt district have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites. [1]

Historical background

Since the 17th century, the area has been densely built-up; the result was a so-called Gängeviertel ("corridor quarter") with many narrow alleys. The density of the buildings increased even more when there was a housing shortage after the Hamburg fire in 1842. In 1892, a cholera epidemic broke out and the poor hygienic conditions in the neighbourhood caused the disease to spread dramatically – it was then decided to redevelop the area. [2] : 29  As a result, many inhabitants were resettled. [3] [4]

Fritz Schumacher, who had been Director of Construction and Head of Building Construction since 1909 prevailed in the replanning of the site; [4] the increasing space requirements of the up-and-coming Hamburg merchants were to be met with the construction of large Kontorhouses, although a partial use as living space was also initially envisaged. [2] : 30  The Burchardplatz forms the centre of the complex planned by Schumacher. [5] : 182, 185 

Architecture

The buildings were mainly made of reinforced concrete skeleton construction. [2] : 30  [3] [4] The new buildings were to be individually designed. Characteristic features are clinker brick facades [1] [3] and copper roofs. In order to make the street canyons more open at the top, the upper floors are often set back from the main front of the house. Decorative elements on the facade are also made of clinker brick; [4] in addition, elements (often sculptures) of ceramics were used for the design, most of which have a connection to Hamburg trade and crafts. [4]

Notable buildings

One of the most famous and architecturally pioneering buildings, the Chilehaus , was designed by the architect Fritz Höger and built between 1922 and 1924. [1] [2] : 30  [6] It owes its name to its owner, the shipowner Henry B. Sloman, who owed his fortune to trade with Chile-saltpeter. [2] : 30  [6] The building is considered the main work of the architect and one of the most important buildings of clinker brick expressionism. [1] [4]

The Miramar-House , the first completed building of the Kontorhaus District, [7] was built in 1921/22 for the trading company Miramar. [5] : 185  The design came from the architect Max Bach. [5] : 185  In addition to hints of clinker brick expressionism, one of the most outstanding stylistic elements is the rounded corner of the house. Also well known are the sculptures by Richard Kuöhl in the entrance area, which represent the most important professional branches of the flourishing Hamburg economy. [7]

The Sprinkenhof was built between 1927 and 1943 according to designs by architects Hans and Oskar Gerson [4] and Fritz Höger. [2] : 31  The building enclosing three inner courtyards was Hamburg's largest office complex at the time. [2] : 31  The Sprinkenhof was one of the buildings whose design originally included apartments, but which were ultimately not realized. The decorative elements on the facade were designed by Ludwig Kunstmann. [2] : 31 

Between 1924 and 1926 an office building for the company Dobbertin & Co. and the Reederei Komrowski was built according to the plans of the architects Distel und Grubitz. [2] : 31  The Montanhof is characterised by the typical – and in this case repeatedly – recessed upper floors. The facade of the clinker brick building is decorated with numerous Art Deco decorations. [5] : 185 

Hans and Oskar Gerson designed another building in the quarter, the Meßberghof. [2] : 30  [5] : 183  [8] : 117  [7] In cooperation with Fritz Wischer, Max Bach built the "Hubertushaus" office building. [2] : 31  [5] : 185  Two other buildings, the Altstädter Hof and the Bartholomayhaus were designed by Rudolf Klophaus. [2] : 32  [8] : 117, 137  The fictitious gable of the Bartholomayhaus, a reminiscence of the old Hanseatic town houses, was already considered obsolete at the time of its construction. The sandstone sculptures at the Altstädter Hof were also designed by Richard Kuöhl, [2] : 32  who also designed the larger-than-life Hermes sculpture [5] : 185  at the main entrance of the "Mohlenhof", [2] : 31  one of the few office buildings that survived the Second World War almost unscathed. Several publishers were based in the Pressehaus (press house), today Helmut-Schmidt-Haus – another work by Klophaus. [9]

Two formative buildings were already built before Schumacher's redesign of the quarter: the house at Schopenstehl 32, a house originally built in 1780 with a rococo portal, which was integrated into a new building by Arthur Viol in 1885–1888; [2] : 28  and the police station at Klingberg, which directly adjoins the Chile House. [2] : 29  New buildings such as the "Danske Hus" and the "Neue Dovenhof", which were built in the 1990s, follow the style of the existing clinker brick buildings. [2] : 28 

Listed buildings and UNESCO World Heritage Site

Most of the buildings in the Kontohausviertel are listed buildings. [10] At the 39th meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Bonn on 5 July 2015, the Kontorhausviertel and the Speicherstadt were added to the list of World Heritage Sites. [7] [11]

Literature

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinker brick</span>

Clinker bricks are partially-vitrified bricks used in the construction of buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johann Friedrich Höger</span> German architect

Johann Friedrich (Fritz) Höger was a German architect from Bekenreihe, Steinburg, Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany. Although never qualified as an architect, he became known for his Brick Expressionist style of architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darmstadt Artists' Colony</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site in Hesse, Germany

The Darmstadt Artists' Colony refers both to a group of Jugendstil artists as well as to the buildings in Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt in which these artists lived and worked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The artists were largely financed by patrons and worked together with other members of the group who ideally had concordant artistic tastes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirche am Hohenzollernplatz</span> Church in Berlin-Wilmersdorf

Kirche am Hohenzollernplatz is the church of the Evangelical Congregation at Hohenzollernplatz, a member of today's Protestant umbrella Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia. The church is located on the eastern side of Hohenzollernplatz in the locality of Wilmersdorf, in the Berlin borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. The building is considered a leading example of Brick Expressionism and a testimonial to the unique quality of expressionist church architecture in Berlin. The naming of the church after the city square it faces was originally considered a temporary solution until a more suitable one was chosen. The name stuck however, though the debate continues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilehaus</span> Office building in Hamburg, Germany

The Chilehaus is a ten-story office building in Hamburg, Germany. It is located in the Kontorhaus District. It is an exceptional example of the 1920s Brick Expressionism style of architecture. This large angular building is located on a site of approximately 6,000 m2, spanning the Fischertwiete Street in Hamburg. It was designed by the German architect Fritz Höger and finished in 1924. As part of Kontorhaus District, it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HafenCity</span> Quarter of Hamburg in Germany

HafenCity is a quarter in the borough of Hamburg-Mitte, Hamburg, Germany, and Europe. It is located on the Elbe river island Grasbrook, on the former Port of Hamburg area. It was formally established in 2008 and also includes the historical Speicherstadt area, which since 2015 is an UNESCO World Heritage Site with the adjacent Kontorhausviertel. The main landmark of the HafenCity is the Elbphilharmonie concert hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brick Expressionism</span> Architectural style

The term Brick Expressionism describes a specific variant of Expressionist architecture that uses bricks, tiles or clinker bricks as the main visible building material. Buildings in the style were erected mostly in the 1920s, primarily in Germany and the Netherlands, where the style was created.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Kuöhl</span> German sculptor

Richard Kuöhl was a German sculptor, specializing in providing architectural sculpture for the architects of the Brick Expressionism style in northern Germany in the 1920s.

Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG, known until 2005 as Hamburger Hafen- und Lagerhaus-Aktiengesellschaft, and prior to that as Hamburger Freihafen-Lagerhaus Gesellschaft (HFLG) since 1885, is a German logistics and transportation company specialising in port throughput and container and transport logistics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elbphilharmonie</span> Concert hall in Hamburg, Germany

The Elbphilharmonie, popularly nicknamed Elphi, is a concert hall in the HafenCity quarter of Hamburg, Germany, on the Grasbrook peninsula of the Elbe River. It is among the largest in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speicherstadt</span> Warehouse district in Hamburg, Germany

The Speicherstadt in Hamburg, Germany, is the largest warehouse district in the world where the buildings stand on timber-pile foundations, oak logs, in this particular case. It is located in the port of Hamburg—within the HafenCity quarter—and was built from 1883 to 1927.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afrikahaus (Hamburg)</span> Office building in Hamburg, Germany

The Afrikahaus is an office building at Große Reichenstraße 27 in the German city of Hamburg. It was built in 1899 as the headquarters of the C. Woermann firm by the Hamburg architect Martin Haller and was given listed monument status in 1972.

The year 2015 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kontorhaus am Markt</span>

The Kontorhaus am Markt in Bremen is a historical building in the city centre of Bremen. Today, it is used as a shopping mall. It is situated at the Bremer Marktplatz between three streets: Langenstrasse 2/8, Stintbruecke 1 and Bredenstrasse 13.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altstadt, Hamburg</span> Place in Hamburg, Germany

Altstadt, more precisely Hamburg-Altstadt – as not to be mistaken with Hamburg-Altona-Altstadt – is one of the inner-city districts of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany.

The Miramar House is a historic Kontorhaus in Hamburg, built in the style of Brick Expressionism of the 1920s. It is located in the Hamburg-Altstadt district. The house has been a listed building since 1999. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Kontorhaus District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sprinkenhof</span>

The Sprinkenhof is a nine-storey office building built between 1927 and 1943 in Hamburg's Kontorhaus District. The complex borders the streets Altstädter Straße, Burchardstraße and Johanniswall, and the Springeltwiete runs through the inner courtyard. The Chilehaus is located directly to the northeast, separated only by the main road. As part of Kontorhaus District, the Sprinkenhof was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pärnu maantee 36 // Roosikrantsi 23</span> Building in Tallinn

Pärnu maantee 36 // Roosikrantsi 23 is a mixed-use commercial and residential building in Tallinn, Estonia, on the sharp corner of the streets Pärnu maantee and Roosikrantsi, designed by Baltic German architect Robert Natus and built between 1935-36. The building has been a listed national monument since 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speicherstadtrathaus</span> Building in Hamburg, Germany

The Speicherstadtrathaus is the administration building of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG. It is located in the historic warehouse complex of the Speicherstadt in the Port of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany. The Speicherstadtrathaus has been a listed building since 1991 and has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since July 5, 2015, along with the neighboring Kontorhaus District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johannes Grotjan</span> German architect

Johannes Martin Friedrich Grotjan was a German architect. He was responsible for a large number of the municipal buildings constructed in Hamburg during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a period of great expansion and rise to global prominence for the city.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Hamburger Speicherstadt ist Weltkulturerbe" [Hamburg Speicherstadt is a World Cultural Heritage Site]. Die Zeit (in German). 5 July 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Lange, Ralf (1995). Architekturfuhrer Hamburg (in German). Edition Axel Menges. ISBN   978-3-930698-58-5 . Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 "Historie des Kontorhausviertel" [History of the Kontorhaus District]. Kontorhausviertel (in German). Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Wo sich Hamburgs Handel ein Denkmal setzte" [Where Hamburg's trade set a monument to itself]. www.ndr.de (in German). 6 July 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hipp, Hermann (1990). Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg. Kunst-Reiseführer.: Geschichte, Kultur und Stadtbaukunst an Elbe und Alster (in German) (2nd, reprint ed.). Dumont Reise Vlg GmbH + C. ISBN   978-3-7701-1590-7 . Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  6. 1 2 "Das Chilehaus – ein Haus wie ein Schiff". Norddeutscher Rundfunk (in German). 31 May 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Kihm, Herbert. "Kontorhausviertel – Hamburgs UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe". Hamburg-Lese (in German). Bertuch Verlags Weimar. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  8. 1 2 Zukowsky, John; Lesnikowski, Wojciech G. (1994). The many faces of modern architecture: building in Germany between the World Wars. Prestel. ISBN   978-3-7913-1366-5 . Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  9. ↑ "Pressehaus heißt jetzt Helmut-Schmidt-Haus" [Press house now called Helmut Schmidt House]. Die Zeit. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  10. ↑ "Hamburg – Denkmalliste" [Hamburg – Listed buildings](PDF). Hamburg.de (in German). p. 36. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  11. ↑ 39th Session of the World Heritage Committee
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.