Hamburgische Elektricitäts-Werke (HEW)
Arne Jacobsen office building undergoing gentle transformation
The Hamburgische Elektricitäts-Werke (HEW) building, designed by Arne Jacobsen, is currently undergoing a sensitive architectural transformation that aims to adapt the structure to contemporary office use while honoring and preserving its distinctive modernist expression.
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
- Category
- Headquarters, Transformations, Culture
- Year
- 1971 - In Progress
- Client
- Hamburgische Elektricitäts-Werke AG (HEW)
- Size
- 48.600 kvm
Acting as the client’s design advisor and in collaboration with the German architectural firm KSP Engel, Dissing+Weitling plays a key role in ensuring that any alterations to the building are carried out in the spirit of Arne Jacobsen. Otto Weitling continues to contribute his extensive expertise on the architectural legacy, thereby helping to inform both regulatory processes and the basis for ongoing transformation work.
How it began
In 1964, Arne Jacobsen and Otto Weitling won the international competition for the new headquarters of Hamburgische Elektricitäts-Werke AG (HEW) in Hamburg. The 48,600-square-meter office building stands as a direct precursor to Jacobsen’s later work on the National Bank of Denmark.
Arne Jacobsen high-rise building
The structure consists of four narrow, staggered concrete volumes clad with curtain-wall façades and gable ends in grey natural stone. Rising to a height of 44.5 meters, the building is oriented along a north–south axis. Immediately north of the tower, a low technical building extends from the main volume. It is clad in dark natural stone and features a north-facing glass gable that reflects the sky and surrounding environment.
A distinctive architectural gesture is found in the canteen floor and its associated atrium. Here, the dining spaces, together with terrace gardens and a pergola, create a unique spatial sequence that exemplifies Jacobsen’s sensitivity to the interplay between structure, landscape, and human scale.
Innovative facade solution with model value
A central part of the transformation is the development of a new, specially designed facade for the high-rise. This solution serves as a model for how heritage facades – especially those with a defining impact on the whole – can be modernized to meet contemporary comfort standards without compromising architectural quality.
All facade elements – including glass fillings, parapets, and gable cladding – are being replaced carefully with materials that match the original in both expression and quality. Despite an increased facade depth of up to 40 mm, the proportions have been preserved while also fulfilling current energy requirements.
Visionary spatial layout
The building was conceived with a high degree of flexibility and with Arne Jacobsen also responsible for the interior design. Unusually for its time—and at the request of the client—the layout was designed around individual offices rather than open-plan workspaces, although the overall plan still allows for a more adaptable use of space.
Completed and inaugurated in 1968, the building was later acquired by the Swedish energy company Vattenfall.
HEW