Köhlbrand staircase

The property “Köhlbrandtreppe 2-4” has been the location of the shipping company Johs. Thode for almost 125 years. It is adjacent to the Köhlbrandtreppe architectural monument in a westerly direction. Until the 1960s, this site was used daily by thousands of workers on their way between the densely built-up residential quarters in the upper town and the ferry terminal or the port and commercial enterprises on the banks of the Elbe. Until the Second World War, this was also a terminus of the Hamburg tramway.

The monumental existing building of the Johs.Thode shipping company has undergone various modernization phases and most recently an additional extension in an easterly direction in the 1980s and is now to be converted once again into a contemporary, sustainable use. For this purpose, the existing building is to be removed and replaced by a new building designed by the architectural firm LH Architekten.

The guiding idea for the design is, on the one hand, the design of the structure with regard to its very diverse location qualities (on the monument, on the Elbe hiking trail, in the flood area, on the slope, view of the Elbe). On the other hand, the horizontally structured mix of uses is to be staged, consisting of ground-floor parking on the slope and in the flood area, central floors for residential uses, and two floors for office use by the traditional shipping company. Completion 4th quarter 2016.