Park Quarter

Park Quarter is being constructed in a scenic spot on Harburg's Schlossinsel, surrounded by the waters of the Binnengraft, the charming ambience of the upriver port, and the neighbouring lawns of the park. It comprises two residential buildings: Inselleben ("Island Life") and Boathouse.

Neighbourhood Living in Inselleben

The new Inselleben building is the westernmost of the two housing developments. Covering an area of 2260 square metres, it comprises twenty-five apartments. Fifteen of these are publicly funded and ten are privately financed, and there is a day nursery, offering space for community living. Wide walkways on the park side of the building provide a kind of urban front garden outside the entrances to the apartments, creating a place for meeting and exchange between neighbours.

The apartments are arranged over five floors, and oriented north to south. Each of the units, which range between 50 and 90 square metres, runs the length of the storey, creating a spacious feel. The whole of the balcony on the south façade can be planted, allowing each resident to cultivate their own little garden in the very heart of the district. Balconies also open directly from the living and eating area, turning them, when the weather is warm, into open-air living rooms.

On the other side, the building adjoins the new Schlossinsel Park. One striking feature on this side is the "storage niches", a design element protruding from the north brick façade. These provide residents with additional storage room for items such as prams and bicycles.

A flat-roofed, two-storey annex is attached to the southwest end of the building. This houses the new day nursery, with 75 places, which caters for children who live in the building, and can also accept those from the surrounding neighbourhood.

The Inselleben project provides space for the individual needs of its residents, while also promoting the formation of a social community within the building. The concept and design were formulated by the Copenhagen-based architects hauschild + siegel, who have in addition designed part of the IBA project New Hamburg Terraces.


Arriving Home by Boat

Next door, twenty owner-occupied apartments are being built, part of the Boathouse project, in a very special location: the five-storey building lies in a scenic setting between the new park, to the north, and the eastern Binnengraft. This waterfront location has inspired the developers to incorporate a feature that is a first for Hamburg: an underground garage in the basement has space not only for residents' cars, but also for boats. This boat garage at the base of the building has a roof that acts as a waterfront terrace, accessible to the public. The design thus provides a new recreational area on the water and an attractive setting for watersports enthusiasts. The base of the boat garage also serves as a firm foundation for the building. Large window openings divide up the Hamburg-style brick facework façade, and offer residents views of the comings and goings on the water. The apartments range from 65 to 130 square metres in size. On the side of the building facing the park, the future residents will have direct access to balconies, from where they can overlook the newly laid green space of the park. The apartments on the third floor, with spacious roof terraces, will have a particularly good view of their surroundings.

The Boathouse project is enriching the residential district on Harburg's Schlossinsel by providing individual living space. Thanks to an appealing location and the proximity between different housing developments, an attractive neighbourhood is taking shape right beside the harbour in the very heart of Harburg.


Project Milestones

• Autumn 2010: the Schlossinsel is made exempt from regulations governing the harbour area
• Spring 2011: two-stage declaration of interest process
• Spring 2012: construction work begins
• Summer 2013: completion of the Boathouse and Inselleben projects