1/2-2017

Adding Floors

The Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg is conspicuously missing from the presentation of additions on top of existing buildings in the current issue. Affectionately known as “Elphi”, since being opened in November this building has been a permanent guest in the print media, where its presence reached a new highpoint during the series of opening concerts in January 2017. Developed from an idea that arose during a gathering of regulars around a pub table—adding a concert hall on top of an existing quay warehouse without employing any structural magic tricks—the Hamburg Philharmonie has become an icon. Of course, the simple, plausible image called for considerable effort; the structural demands were sizable—as is the case in many additions of new storeys. As we want to take a closer look at this building we will be devoting an issue to it in early summer. By then the excitement will have died down and the building will be part of day-to-day life.
As shown by the Elphi, adding something on top of a building can create a strong image. This was true for the Viennese gem by Coop Himmelblau, which dates from 1988. In fact this spectacular roof-top element only contains a meeting room for a law firm along with a number of office units—but nevertheless it became an incunabulum of Deconstructivism. With just a single blow these explosive forms made the Viennese office famous and ensured that the “l” in its name was placed in brackets. Since then all kinds of yuppie dreams (or were they, in fact, mostly architects’ dreams?) have become reality up on the roof, hidden—sometimes more so, often less—behind a projecting canopy and the eaves.
The examples from Hamburg and Vienna present for discussion themes that shift between the demands of urban planning, and technical and financial feasibility. Politicians seem to believe that adding storeys and permitting greater building height in the inner city can offer the answer to the question about how to increase density. In this regard the Jusos (young socialists) in Basel seem just as convinced as conservative associations of business and property owners. In this issue we take a more differentiated look at the promised universal panacea. Marginal costs, the interfaces of the construction and the influence on urban design and social coherence demand that the greatest care should be taken in extending the city vertically.