Westin Hamburg to open in ‘shimmering’ Herzog & de Meuron-designed Elbe Philharmonic complex
Starwood Hotels is opening the Westin Hamburg next year in the highly anticipated Elbe Philharmonic complex. The 10-storey, 205-bedroom Westin Hamburg Hotel, designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, is due to open in October 2016.
The Elbe Philharmonic complex, built around a historical warehouse on the banks of the river Elbe and also designed by Herzog & De Meuron, will include three concert halls, 45 private apartments, and a 4,000sq m (43,055sq ft) publicly accessible plaza with a 360-degree panoramic view of the city.
Roeland Vos, president, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Africa & Middle East, said the company is “honoured to be a part of such a significant cultural project.”
The centrepiece of the Elbe Philharmonic complex is a world-class concert hall at a height of 50 m (164 ft) with seating for 2,100. The audience is seated on all sides of the stage, with seating rising up in interwoven tiers, similar to the terraced planting of vineyards. Acoustics specialist Yasuhisa Toyota developed a special material, known as the White Skin, to ensure the acoustics are perfect. Made of 10,000 gypsum fibre panels composed of a mixture of natural plaster and recycled paper, the design also means that the walls and the ceiling merge into one another, so that they like a single piece of skin.
The former warehouse that the complex is build around, known as the Kaispeicher A, was designed by Werner Kallmorgen. It was constructed between 1963 and 1966 on the site of the original neo-Gothic Kaispeicher, built in 1875 and almost totally destroyed in World War II.
The Kaispeicher A was completely gutted and renovated as part of the project, and will house the spa facilities and conference rooms of the hotel. The entrance to the former warehouse will be reached via an 82m (269ft) escalator with a concave arch, so that its end cannot be seen from the beginning, immersing visitors in a glowing spherical tunnel, and will also include glass sequins that reflect and refract the lights to set the mood for the ambience of the building.
Set in contrast to the original brick facade of the Kaispeicher A below, the glass facade of the Elbe Philharmonic complex, completed in January 2014, consists of 1,100 individual panes, each measuring 4-5m wide and more than 3m-high. The windows were shaped with millimetre precision and then marked with small basalt grey reflective dots that prevent the structure from heating up in the sunlight, while at the same time creating a shimmering effect that changes as it catches different reflections.
The viewing plaza lies at the junction between old and new – at the top of the Kaispeicher A, and beneath the new iridescent building. The hotel lobby, a cafe, and access to the foyers of the new concert halls are also all located there.
The 7,000sq m (75,347sq ft) roof consists of eight spherical, concavely bent sections that form an elegantly curving silhouette, and also include 6,000 giant sequins, which add to the shimmering effect.
The Westin Hamburg will target both business and leisure travellers., and will include a Westin WorkOut fitness centre, an indoor swimming pool, and a 1200sq m (12,917sq ft) spa.
While the hotel is due to open in October 2016, and the public plaza will be accessible from November 2016, the Elbe Philharmonic will be officially inaugurated on 11 January, 2017.





James Corner Field Operations creates Highline for London

Esbjerg’s landmark maritime center, designed by WERK Arkitekter and Snøhetta, opens to the public

SEVEN to open world’s first indoor Discovery Adventures centres in Saudi Arabia

Fun and fear drive new Universal attraction concepts for Texas and Las Vegas

Voelker Gray Design creates 10-acre hot springs wellness haven for Atlanta

AIDarchitecten create healing spa for Antwerp's Botanic Sanctuary

Hollaway Studio's Seahive would bring blue health to South-East England

SEVEN to invest US$13bn in developing entertainment destinations across Saudi Arabia

World Spa’s expansive 50,000sq ft urban bathhouse and wellness club opens in Brooklyn

Floating Salmon Eye visitor attraction by Kvorning Design highlights sustainable aquaculture

White Arkitekter's Wood Hotel in Skellefteå Swedish Lapland is climate positive and made from local timber

Nohlab's 'Everything' installation among Noor Riyadh festival highlights

Bob Iger's return to Disney sparks major restructuring focused on creativity and storytelling

Therme Group plans US$200m urban wellbeing resort in South Korea

Digital art installation in Nanjing helps the public keep an eye on exoplanets

First glimpses revealed of flagship Blue Zones Centre in Miami

Warner Bros. and Infinite Reality launch metaverse experiences for live sports fans

Storyland Studios' Nigeria's film city project will break ground in Q1 2023

Canyon Ranch preps for major expansion with new destinations in Austin, Fort Worth and Houston

WilkinsonEyre-designed Battersea Power Station development opens as leisure district following £9bn redevelopment

Healthy cities conference to discuss diversity and inclusivity in urban planning and design

Foster and Partners reveal design for sustainable marine life centre on the Red Sea

Anaheim's US$4bn ocV!BE project approved by planners

Construction marches ahead for Saudi giga-projects Amaala and The Red Sea

HBG Design behind Michigan’s six-storey Aquadome inspired by the sun’s path across the sky

Seventh International Museum Construction Congress to be held in Norway this year

The 'world's most anticipated museum' to finally open this year

Nike's Serena Williams Building, designed by Skylab, follows the concept of flow

Saudi Arabia's Neom mega-development to include 100-mile long 'horizontal skyscraper city'

David Adjaye and Ralph Appelbaum selected for £57m International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum project
From parks designed to mitigate the effects of flooding to warming huts for one of the world’s coldest cities, these projects have been designed for increasingly extreme climates