It’s hard to contemplate Hamburg, Germany, without dreaming of Fritz Höger’s Chilehaus, completed in 1924, or Herzog & de Meuron’s Elbphilharmonie from 2016. These projects both respond to Hamburg’s maritime tradition, and weave in vernacular masonry techniques native to the region.
Christ & Gantenbein is the latest studio to riff on Hamburg’s Brick expressionist style, and do it well.
The Swiss office recently delivered Willy Brandt Strasse 69, a mixed use building which draws inspiration from the city’s nautical lineage, and the region’s time-tested brick making approaches, not unlike Herzog & de Meuron and Höger in years past.
Willy Brandt Strasse 69, in its contextual interplay, is reminiscent of other noteworthy Christ & Gantenbein projects. Take for instance Vaugirard Housing in Paris—a handsome apartment block made of metal, concrete, and wood inspired by the city’s fin de siècle Haussmannian rooftops.
Closer to home in Aare, Switzerland, Christ & Gantenbein ideated a concrete bridge that meshes tradition with modern elegance.
At Willy Brandt Strasse 69, semicircular pilasters clad in red brick compose the rhythmic facade sandwiched between old churches, Brutalist office buildings, and other, more new works making up the rich context that Christ & Gantenbein responded to with curiosity and vigor.
A restaurant and multifunctional spaces line the ground floor, enhancing Willy Brandt Strasse’s admittedly austere public realm.
The new office and residential building takes cues from the large-scale developments lining Willy Brandt Strasse, an expansive thoroughfare built in the 1960s, but also Hamburg’s historic warehouses that edge the Nikolaifleet canal—the Fleetinsel Gästewohnungen, known as the “Fleet houses” in short.
Willy Brandt Strasse 69 has two main entrances, one for the residences, the other for offices. The apartment entry is off of the adjacent Hopfenmarkt square. Office space users enjoy a shared, central stairway that makes for a seamless flow between levels.
From afar, Willy Brandt Strasse 69 has two distinct volumes. The tallest portion is on a prominent corner, and nicely frames a nearby bell tower thanks to setbacks. The squatter side abuts a row of small-scale houses, both new and old.
The brick is handmade and was sourced locally. These bits are comprised of clay from the Elbmarsch region, where artisans produce burnt brick using traditional ring kilns by Rusch, a family-run manufacturer founded in 1881.
In a statement, Christ & Gantenbein said by “combining craftsmanship with abstract-modern elements such as seriality, grids, and cubic forms, the building creates a dialogue between tradition and contemporary design.”
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