A glass opera house with a walkable roof landscape: This is what the new opera in Hamburg’s Hafencity should look like. On Thursday, the jury, the architects, the city and the Kühne Foundation presented the architect’s design, which won the contract from five proposals. The Danish architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group is to build the new opera on the Baakenhöft, for which billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne wants to provide up to 330 million euros.
“The new opera is an opportunity to make Hamburg even better known in the world as a city of culture and to strengthen its reputation as an international metropolis,” said Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD). With this special building and the public park directly on the banks of the Elbe, the Baakenhöft will become an “attractive, extraordinary place for all Hamburg residents”. “The new opera can become another landmark of the city alongside the Elbphilharmonie and Michel,” emphasized the mayor.
Glass opera house with a walkable roof landscape
The design envisages a glass opera house with an inviting, fully accessible roof landscape that opens up to the Elbe and the city on all sides. The winning design will now be fleshed out over the next two years in close coordination with the foundation, the city and the Hamburg State Opera as the future user. At the end of this extended preliminary planning and a reliable cost estimate, the Kühne Foundation will make a final decision on the realization of the new building.
Five internationally renowned architectural firms took part in the competition: in addition to Bjarke Ingels Group (Copenhagen), Gerkan, Marg & Partner (gmp/Hamburg) with Diller Scofidio & Renfro (New York), Prof. Jörg Friedrich/Studio PFP (Hamburg), the Snøhetta office (Oslo) and the Sou Fujimoto office (Tokyo/Paris). All offices have special expertise in cultural buildings.
According to the jury, the design is a “successful symbiosis”
According to the jury, the design is a “successful symbiosis of good conditions for an opera house and an exciting landmark for all Hamburg residents”. The facade’s generous roof overhangs, which result in a cascade of elegant balconies, were recognized as a special feature: “De facto, a spiral of roof gardens is created, which is planted with native trees, bushes and grasses and is made available to the public as a place to stay.” This means that the opera building can be completely circled to enjoy views of the city, HafenCity and the harbor.
Billionaire Kühne is making up to 330 million euros available
In February, the city and the Kühne Foundation agreed on a contract to build a new opera. It envisages that a project company will build the new opera on the Baakenhöft, in which, in addition to the foundation, the city and the opera will also be involved. The billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne had announced that he would make up to 330 million euros available for the new building. The city is contributing 147.5 million euros for additional location-specific costs, for example for foundations and flood protection. According to the city, the foundation bears all other costs and risks.
Construction of the new opera could begin in early 2030. Completion would be possible in 2034. According to the Senate, a general renovation of the old opera house on Dammtorstrasse would be considerably more expensive. In addition, there would be high costs for building and operating an alternative venue. The listed building is to be preserved as a cultural site and used for other cultural purposes in the future.