Elisen Palais, Hamburg

Elisen Palais is going to be Hamburg’s new inner city jewel
Redevco Germany is developing one of the most significant corner properties on Mönckebergstrasse into a top quality climate-neutral, mixed-use asset. After completion, the upgraded building, styled after a traditional ‘Kontorhaus’ office, will comprise nine floors with a gross floor area of approx. 21,000 m². The site, which used to be home to C&A only,  will feature a mix of functions in the future, including retail, two distinct hotel concepts and food & beverage. The redevelopment is expected to be finalised by the end of 2026.

Sustainability and well-being of utmost importance
A redevelopment of an existing building is always an opportunity to maximise its positive impact on the environment and the community. In terms of sustainable design, three key strategies have played a vital role in the ongoing planning process to reach a most sustainable design.

Improving to BREEAM in use excellent
Improving the sustainability performance of listed buildings is a challenge, because of the many restrictions imposed by regulations to protect the historical character of these monuments. However, as we are passionate about helping cities transform, and contributing to a more sustainable urban future that positively benefits the health and well-being of people and the planet, we are planning to upgrade the property in such a way that we will improve its BREEAM in use rating to Excellent.

Cradle to cradle principles
The cradle-to-cradle approach is chosen by implementing simple and dismountable constructions and element build-ups, was favored above composite elements to allow for highest recyclability, adaptability, and recoverability of materials.

A prominent and long-lasting structure
Looking at the street facade the same strategy applies. Thinking about the building as a prominent and long lasting structure within the inner city, set between heritage buildings, the idea of longevity plays a vital role in the evaluation of the lifecycle.

Screwed instead of glued
The street facade is thought to be one of the more permanent elements of the building ranging up to a lifetime of 200 years. The courtyard facade, could be more subject to change and therefor needs to be more adaptable in terms of construction and build up. It is also built with recyclability and dismountability in mind: i.e. ‘screwed instead of glued’ – ‘anodised/raw instead of coated’.

Feasible impact on the carbon footprint
With regard to constructing the building, the structure is also optimised in terms of span, dimension and materiality to have the lowest possible feasible impact on the carbon footprint of the building. To come to a CO2 reduction in construction of the building we have also used CO2 reduced and recycled steel and concrete We are reusing the existing basement walls and reinforcing them with steel beams salvaged from the existing building instead of the conventional bored pile wall. In addition, the maximum amount of steel that Redevco could store on site – in order to minimise CO2 emissions caused by transportation – was 450 tonnes, which has been recycled and was used to stabilise the outer walls of the basement. As a major part of the structure, the ceiling systems play a key role in lowering the carbon footprint. For this reason, timber-concrete composite ceilings are used from the second floor upwards, which save a considerable amount of CO2 by combining wood and concrete in an optimal way.