A sculpture-like flying roof and an extraordinary entrance in HI-MACS® for Hanse Merkur

Architects Wasfy Taha and Fionn Mögel from Querkopf-Architekten were assigned with the task to create a new face for Hanse Merkur company in Hamburg. 

What the architects found at the existing building near the Dammtor train station was an inconsistent "architectural mix".

The offices of this traditional company are located in the historic old building "Haus Wedells", which consists of a structure from the 90s and a glass atrium. An extended entrance hall was used to create the link between the different eras, while making a dramatic architectural statement.

The architects from Querkopf-Architekten decided to devise the entrance as a sculpture, architecturally merging the "past" and the "present" into the "future". This is not only reflected in the futuristic design but also in the chosen material: the New Generation HI-MACS® solid surface material.

The architects deliberately thought "outside the box" and designed the entrance hall as an expressive continuation of the glass atrium into the urban space. The basic shape of the entrance is a rectangular pavilion with a six metre continuous glass façade and a full glass ceiling stretching over six metres without any supports. There are no pillars inside the structure; steel beams are used to transfer the load to the façade mullions. The construction process was complicated, as an underground car park had to be taken into consideration in the structural analysis.