Schellerdamm Student Residence

The area around Harburg Inland Port is being transformed into an urban district with a vibrant mix of living, working, and recreational space. The IBA is supporting this change with its new project in Harburg: a student residence is to be built near the Maritime Housing on the Kaufhauskanal and the newly designed Kanalplatz.


The residence will be built on the corner of Schellerdamm and Veritaskai, right next to the historic Fleethaus building, according to a design by the Hamburg-based firm limbruck tubbesing. The 2549 square metre site will not only become home to 193 students, but will also feature shops and restaurants.

Courtyards at Different Heights

One important design feature is the different heights present in the façade. The building is divided into five sections, varying between five and eight storeys. Glass-walled staircases provide a visual dividing line between the sections, while allowing uninterrupted views across the building. Four courtyards lie beyond the staircases, on the roof of the ground floor. The student apartments are grouped around these courtyards and give the complex its distinctive comb-like structure. The walls of the student residence make reference to the neighbouring Fleethaus building, with its black and red brick façade. A similar design will define the look of the new structure. Scattered over the façade are small staircases, the contrasting dark-brick ground floor, and yellow sections in the walls.


Community and Public Facilities

The main entrance to the five- to eight-storey residence is at the northern end of the Schellerdamm. The entrance courtyard is home to a laundrette, rooms for carers, and student club rooms. There is also a way through from the Schellerdamm to the district garage housed within the block, which contains 61 parking spaces for the students and their visitors. On the street-facing side, the ground floor offers space for shops and eating places.

The actual student apartments, comprising 57 residential units, are not on the ground floor but in the upper part of the building. Most of the student rooms are within shared four-room apartments, each with their own living room-cum-kitchen and two bathrooms, grouped around a communal landing. In addition, there are four two-bedroom apartments and nine individual apartments. Wheelchair-friendly rooms with accessible bathrooms are located near the four lifts. These form part of the four-bedroom apartments.

The floor plans for the shared apartments are versatile and can be adapted to the needs of the residents by making minor changes. As a result, the residence can be converted with little effort into a standard multi-family block with four-room apartments, should the building undergo a change in use.

In addition to the private living facilities, the residence also has a large number of communal areas. Club rooms and terraces are planned for the top floors of each building. Roof gardens will be planted overlooking Veritaskai and above the shops, and the students will be able to access these freely. The open areas on the roofs of the building and in the courtyards will also act as meeting places and spaces for relaxation.


Cutting-Edge Energy Efficiency 

The energy concept of the building is following the newest standards and is based on an energy management system (ice storage), that is capable of using the existing free energy of the building all-season. The building is a collector. The existing heat collected from sun and usage is a direct benefit for the building. The surplus of heat from the sommer-months will be then used during the winter.

Project Milestones

• November 2013: Start of construction 
• Early summer 2015: Completion