Hamburg's new ‘Sportlerhaus’ with ceramic facade

The Sportlerhaus combines living and sporting enthusiasm in a unique way. The new building, consisting of seven full storeys and a gallery floor, houses 38 flats, three commercial units, including a café, as well as a co-working area and a communal room.
Photo: © Jochen Stüber, Hamburg, DE

Residential accommodation with waterfront views
Located in Hamburg’s HafenCity, this new building is sympathetic to the sharp edges defined by its surrounding buildings, creating a dialogue of two angles linking its harbour and street aspects. Photo: © Martin Kunze, Hamburg, DE

At the corner of the street, this tall building borders on a square, the Gretchen-Wohlwill-Platz

The building is located in the HafenCity block structure and blends in with the Baakenhafen district in terms of both design and function. The character of the apartments – i.e. their interior layout – is also reflected in their exterior. The notion of teamwork is reflected in the visual composition of the ceramic facade.

Developed from the interior
The exterior appearance of the Sportlerhaus reflects teamwork through the positioning of its window apertures. The residents' choices of floor plan variants influenced the appearance of the facade as did the arrangement of the three floor-to-ceiling window formats used in the building.
Photo: © Martin Kunze, Hamburg, DE

One structure, many possibilities
“These apartments have two distinctive floor plan options. These two very distinct floor plan designs interact in a way that enables living spaces to be defined as public areas inside each apartment. When in the entrance area, this represents ‘offence’ while ‘defence’ is situated right at the back of the apartment. The construction company owners were instrumental in defining these apartment types in terms of offence and defence areas.”
Jan Löhrs, Spine Architects

In keeping with Hamburg's of brick slip construction, a material was sought that would provide a contemporary reinterpretation of brick slip construction. The planners decided to use glazed building ceramics arranged in a brick slip-like format. To create a modern look, the ceramic tiles were laid in a cross joint bond instead of being laid in a typical masonry bond with a tie. Photo: © Jochen Stüber, Hamburg, DE

The material chosen and the three-dimensional aspect of individual modules makes it possible to achieve a nuanced interplay of reflected light and shadow zones. In bright sunlight, this creates the visual impression of a glittering water surface. The ceramic tiles change in shine and colour depending on the weather and time of day:
“At sunset, the tiles glow in golden, glittering tones.” Jan Löhrs, Spine Architects
Photo: © Jochen Stüber, Hamburg, DE

Solid construction with insulated envelope
The two basement levels of the load-bearing walls of the facade are made of reinforced concrete. The residential storeys above are made of sand-lime brick. A composite thermal insulation system suitable for both wall substrates was clad with ceramic modules. This created a uniform exterior finish for the facade. Photo: © Martin Kunze, Hamburg, DE

Two construction methods featuring a composite thermal insulation system
The material used for the solid exterior walls changes from reinforced concrete in the basement floors to sand-lime brick in the upper floors.
Photo: © Martin Kunze, Hamburg, DE

System build-up
A composite thermal insulation system (StoTherm Mineral) with 24 cm of mineral insulation and a uniform surface made of bonded ceramic tiles were applied to the load-bearing exterior wall construction. Mortar, adhesive and insulation are carefully matched to suit the ceramic system. The facade details also took due account of the continuity characteristics of the material used for the ceramic modules