PRESS RELEASES

Haffencity University and IREBS University Regensburg Team Wins Inaugural ULI European Student Design Competition

New Programme being Sponsored by ECE Projektmanagement, Grosvenor, and Hines

06/6/2007

HAMBURG (06 June, 2007) —  A “green” plan created by the team from HafenCity University and IREBS University Regensburg that proposed a sustainable approach to the redevelopment of a 57.9-hectare site in Rothenburgsort in the district of Hamburg-Mitte has been selected as the winning design in the inaugural ULI (Urban Land Institute) European Student Urban Design Competition.

The competition was sponsored by ECE Projektmanagement, Grosvenor, and Hines, three leading European property companies. The winning team’s entry was selected over plans submitted by three other competition finalist teams from 1) TU Graz; 2) European Business School Wiesbaden, University of Applied Sciences Frankfurt, and University of Applied Sciences Wiesbaden; and 3) HafenCity University and ADI Hamburg. The winning team will receive a prize of €35,000 and each of the finalist teams will receive €7,000.

The winning team was announced at the ULI Europe Emerging Trends Conference in Hamburg on 06 June 2007. Team members include: Team Leader Alexander Orthmann, IREBS University; Jakob Immer, HafenCity University; Patrick Stotz, HafenCity University; Julia Spiering, HafenCity University;  and Tobias Pfeffer, IREBS University.

The graduate student teams, competing in a student ideas competition, were charged with a multidisciplinary approach to planning, designing and developing a plan that takes advantage of the economic, physical, historical context of a site surrounded by waterways and transected by transportation infrastructure connecting the district to Hamburg. The students were also tasked to develop a proposal that was environmentally and economically sustainable. The competition is designed as an ideas exercise; there is no intention that the students’ plans will be implemented as part of any revitalization of the site.

The competition is an outgrowth of the highly successful ULI Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition in North America, created in 2002 by ULI and Gerald Hines, chairman and owner of the Hines real estate organization. “The purpose of the competition is to raise awareness among the next generation of the important role high-quality urban design plays in creating not just beautiful buildings, but entire living environments,” Hines noted.

“This is a sincere attempt to take real estate education to a new level through a ‘live’ example,” said Jeremy Newsum, group chief executive of Grosvenor. “It is also significant in that it embraces all of the key disciplines – planning, design, sustainability, finance, and management – and applies those disciplines to the regeneration of a city’s urban area.”

“Team work is the key for successful development of real estate,” said Alexander Otto, chairman of ULI Germany and CEO of ECE Projektmanagement. “This competition enables students to share their knowledge and to look past the boundaries of their subjects. The objective of the contest is to unite the often divergent approaches of the disciplines towards the best solution for the given urban area.”

The winning redevelopment plan, “GreenMOTION,” from HafenCity University and IREBS University Regensburg, uses sustainable mixed-use concepts to create the infrastructure for Hamburg to be a center for innovation in sustainable development with leading edge research and academic institutions to create professional competence in energy and transport, and green housing for students, employees, and the public. The plan creates a “Green Wave” Gateway and Showroom as a significant landmark and entry to the city, and also creates “Green Energy Blocks” as a model for energy-efficient, passive housing.

Plans from the other three teams were:

• “Billhorn Gate” from TU Graz creates connected, dense districts with strong local identification, welcoming landscapes, and a variety of waterfront activites. The plan integrates with existing buildings as well as with HafenCity, connecting the district to surrounding quarters, which are separated by canals, with a series of interesting pier/bridge structures. The plan proposes changing the former “Bilhorner Bruckenstrabe” transit space into an urban boulevard by creating a gateway and placing an increased importance of the private and public green space.
• “Linking Wave” from the European Business School Wiesbaden, University of Applied Sciences Frankfurt, and University of Applied Sciences Wiesbaden, converts the isolated area into a district with its own identity. By reorganizing the traffic with a large roundabout, small parcels are converted into larger connected areas, thereby allowing better uses of the property. A sinuous green wave flanked by buildings that rise in height, creates an identifiable commercial core for the project and a dramatic visual entry into the City.  Linking green spaces with existing structures integrates the property into the surrounding areas.
•  “Eastbound Hamburg,” from HafenCity University and ADI Hamburg, proposes a mixed-use plan that creates an entrance to Hamburg with a multi-functional building for concerts, fairs, and cultural or sporting events and a dramatic media wall that creates a sound barrier between the traffic area and the more residential and mixed-use areas to the east.  The protected neighborhood, each with distinctive characteristics, are connected to the green belt from Lake Alsten along with the green belt along river Elbe to complete the green belt at the northern border to the southern edge. The development would be done in stages and would incorporate office, residential and live/work housing with underground parking.

Jury members commended the winning team for its ability to look at this large-scale problem from all angles. “The team very skillfully responded to all the facets of a large, complicated development problem, addressing feasibility, marketing, phasing, urban design—while using sustainability as a way of programming design,” said Alec Emmott, jury chair.

The jury of renowned land use experts include: jury chair Alec Emmott, directeur general delegue, Societe Fonciere Lyonnaise, Paris; Mark F. Gurney, design manager, Sonae Sierra, Lisbon, Portugal; Lahlou Khelifi, managing director, Lazard Freres, Paris; Kasper Kraemer, Kaspar Kraemer Architeckten BDA, Koeln, German; Sophie Le Clercq, administrateur delegue, JCS Gestion Sa, Brussels; Evan Rose, principal SMWM, New York.

The four finalists were chosen from 15 entries representing 10 universities from seven countries – Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Great Britain, Republic of Belarus, and Turkey. The entries from the four finalists can be found on the competition Web site (www.udcompetition@uli.org.)

“This is a real site, with real challenges, and we look for practical, innovative solutions that reflect responsible land use,” said ULI Europe President William Kistler.

The ULI European Student Urban Design Competition is part of the Institute’s ongoing efforts to raise interest among young people in building better communities and improving development patterns worldwide, said ULI President Richard Rosan. “The future growth of our urban areas will be shaped by the next generation of urban designers, architects, planners, developers, engineers, and other land use experts. Through this competition, we aim to offer students a chance to mix creativity with functionality.”

The Urban Land Institute www.uli.org is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has more than 36,000 members representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines.