REAPAIR IT OBERHAFEN HAMBURG

hcu

hafencity universität hamburg

REAP-air it Oberhafen: transforming urban development areas

“Creating a sustainable community which aims to celebrate the post-industrial site and artistic lifestyle”

resource efficiency in architecture & planning

Presented by: Jasmin Barco, Serkalem Bogale, Betelhem Demissae, Aissa Putri & Krupskaya Ramírez Supervisors: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Dickhaut Dipl.-Ing.Arch. Verena Lücking, M.Sc. Dipl.-Ing. Micha Becker Tutor: Tugce Tosun project 2 Summer Semester 2013

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2 Current condition of the Site

Current Condition of the site Legend Natural boundaries (Elbe river) Green areas Other boundaries (Rail Tracks) Line of sight Limited Access Wide open space Paved ground Communal space Noise exposure Current community Wind exposure/direction Sun exposure

Oberhafen is an industrial area with a high popo tential to be transformed into a sustainable urban project. The original purpose of Oberhafen buildings were used as storage, currently they are being used as a workplace and an area to hold community events with a total area of 6,7 Ha. It is located in Hamburg’s inner-city, which is easily accessed within 10 minute walking distances from the Hamburg’s central station. In the surrounding areas there are numerous office buildings, shopping areas, libraries, and many other facilities among gastronomy.

One of the most interesting attractions of the site is the historical railways, which took part as one of the first railways in the history of Hamburg. This is mostly being used by logistic companies for transportation. Another attraction is the Oberhafen Kantine, whose unique tilted structure is the current icon for the Oberhafen site. It should be emphasized that the Kantine currently plays a big role in hosting community events and will help shape the future of the Oberhafen.

In order to prove the theory that Oberhafen has a huge potential to be developed into a sustainable urban area, a SWOT ANALYSIS was conducted at the site. This process will help identify the proper strategies which suit the Oberhafen project the most.

Strengths: • The site has a strategic location, just couple minutes walking from public facilities.

• Offer a big area with strong characteristic of railways.

• It has a strong building foundation, which will not cost much repairing or material placing.

• High sun exposure and no overshadow.

• It already has an active cultural society insitu, which will help to develop the project.

Weaknesses: • Poor building maintenance.

• Most of the soil is covered by paving block or asphalt, and there is no rainwater infiltration, thi is a problem for flooding control.

• Limited connectivity from the site in current situation ( not mentioning the bridge and tunnel project).

• Building design is not suitable for daily activities because it has low air and light circulation, no insulation.

Energy Oberhafen can be an excellent spot to produce energy on site by using either wind or sun as an energy source, due to its natural weather conditions and location. Therefore, it is possible to implement any technological system which needs wind to produce energy on-site. The possibilities to produce energy by using sun as an energy source are low, due to its Hamburg’s cloudy weather conditions. However, in order to generate the best efficient energy system it is necessary to combine wind and sun by applying wind turbines and pv panels.

Water The site has a high potential to be developed throughout the years by including several approaches to provide water for different uses on-site, which can be implemented by collecting and distributing rainwater in an efficient way, as well as integrating protection systems from overflow and flooding, and controlling water pollution. Implementing stormwater management systems such as water retention ponds will create an ecologic balance in the area since it is a natural system , which can supply water from retention ponds, and can also be reused for groundwater recharge, irrigation, toilet flushing or any other purpose, optionally requiring further treatment.

Material Oberhafen also has a high potential to be transformed into a sustainable urban area within a limited budget, by reusing or recycling materials. Although, recycling is the main goal of the project, it is not suitable for refurbishing buildings with insulation, which requires implementing new elements with better qualities in order to generate a healthy environment for human beings. Up-cycling ideas will be implemented by different approaches not only to regenerate the area, but also to provide recreational activities by involving inhabitants into the planned programs such as community classes.

Community The high potential of the site will help to integrate the public participation into the project and appealing different approaches to develop the Oberhafen area by implementing community gardens as a sustainable solution that can generate a natural environment and hence, can provide a better quality of life for the inhabitants. the creation of community gardens will start from a small scale by implementing composting and up-cycling ideas, such as vertical up-cycle walls by recycling plastic bottles to cultivate vegetables; it is a sustainable activity for agriculture, and can encourage people to start their own garden. In fact, the community garden is planned to grow into an urban gardening area, which can be integrated into the landscape and provide sustainable solutions to this urban area and the city.

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Opportunities: • High potential to implement new energy sources that use sunlight and wind, such as pv panels or wind turbines.

• A new , efficient and more environmental friendly stormwater management system, such as rainwater harvesting, water retention ponds, etc.

• Promoting green circles by reusing and recycling building material to revitalizate the site.

Even will be possible to compost watse or abandoned material in-situ and gives them another function on the site.

Threat: • Some ideas could be restricted by laws since wind turbines for example are not allow to be implemented in residential areas.

• Flooding problems since there is any system implementation for solving this issue.

• Business competitor may lead into low site income.

• High Investment not followed by pay back in short number of year.

Project Goals The Urban development targets to reconnect the area of Oberhafen with the city on different levels of scope (macro, meso, micro layers). The Conceptual approach is on how the area can be developed under the aspects of re-synchronization, re-connection, re-vitalization, re-pairing, resource-efficiency, self-sufficiency, and sustainability using a community, authority or hybrid-based method. WATER, ENEGRY, MATERIAL and other are the major focuses.

Site Potential The Oberhafen area has a high potential to be transformed into a sustainable urban development area and can generate a new lifestyle by integrating citizens into its urban planning process.

According to sustainability concepts, the project focuses in four aspects: • Energy • Water • Material • Community

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wind turbine park

solar panels

greenhouses

urban gardening

rainwater treatment

mobile flood walls

compost

optimal site access

trolley

jogging track

up-cycling market

earn-a-bike shop

10 years

wind turbine park

compost

large community garden mobile flood walls

water collection

trolley

jogging track

tunnel access

creative classes

earn-a-bike program small wind turbines

5 years

compost

verticle upcycle walls

small community garden up-cycling for irrigation

water collection

trolley

site access

jogging track

creative classes

mobile flood walls

Present

insulation

Timeline for Urban Transformation

project concept The purpose for this project is to propose a concept of the Oberhafen quarter which will help it attain a sustainable lifestyle through its re-synchronization, re-connection and re-vitalization under the aspects of resource-efficiency. The concept bases on a bottom-up approach, where communities and local stakeholders play a pivotal role in the redevelopment of the district with a focus on site development and costs minimization through material reuse, water harvesting, and on-site energy generation.

The bottom-up approach consists of listening to the needs and demands of the current community within the Oberhafen, then focusing on the needs of the corporate heads which own the site.

The findings of this investigation will be taken as a basis to build a holistic concept in which resource efficiency as well as community based approaches takes importance in the regeneration, revitalization and reconnection of the Oberhafen site into the city.

The implementation of the bottom-up approach has led to the creation of three key points which will hold true to the Oberhafen site: sustainability, post-industrial and communal.

The concept key points have been derived from the essence of the Oberhafen site and implemented with its present future condition of 10 or more years. Being part of the HafenCity, the Oberhafen must fit a certain standard of sustainability and innovation as well as a community driven approach. The Oberhafen has a rich history; therefore the concept of “Post-Industrial” has been a major factor in considering the Oberhafen’s future. Together, these three key points paint the picture which tells the story of the site and thus have created the Train Restaurant Logo.

A glimpse in 20 years...

Public Space and Monuments

Graffiti exhibition

Train Restaurant and exhibition

Community Garden

A glimpse in 20 years The Oberhafen district has a huge potential to become a cultural and creative center due to its location near to the city center and the central station, as well as its physical properties that comcom plement the site to create a sustainable place and generating a new lifestyle. It is expected that after 20 years the Oberhafen will be one of the cities’ main attractions due to recreational facilities such as, train restaurant, exhibitions, and music and art festivals. It will also attract several investors, not only because of the location of the site, but also because it will be a comfortable place to work. Even though the site will face many modifications and changes, it will still have its post-industrial essence.

Much of Hamburg’s general public is expected to be integrated into this site through recreation, business, and educational activities. The project proposal will help not only the site, but also the surrounding community to achieve self-efficiency. It is only through public participation that the Oberhafen can be developed successfully. The Oberhafen bottom up approach and transformation phases will become an ideal role model for Hamburg’s future projects. The proposed transformation phases will keep the site progress running smoothly and make its goals obtainable. The site will be one element of the city that is sustainable communal and post-industrial. By integrating sustainable energy sources and green solutions, the Oberhafen will play its own part in the fight against environmental challenges, such as global warming, that we face today.

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REAP-air it Oberhafen:

transforming urban development areas

“Creating a sustainable community which aims to celebrate the post-industrial site and artistic lifestyle”

Jasmin Barco Architect, USA

As an architect by profession, I have learned about the high rates of urbanization in our world and the environmental problems associated with the process. Cities are a major contributor to CO2 emissions and climate change; due to fast population growth, they play an important part in the depletion of natural resources, rendering them unsustainable.

Programs aimed to reverse environmental pollution rely on renewable energies and closing the natural-resources cycle. Answers are found in the application of new urban technologies and zero energy architectural solutions for the built environment-- or the ‘smart city’ concept. However, the smart city concept has yet to be realized by many areas and countries which do not have the available resources to benefit from technological innovations in city and building construction. Where and how can these places start to participate in the environmentally forward-looking policies, strategies and technologies?

The Oberhafen project is located within the city of Hamburg and has been proposed to implement a community based bottom-up approach; it is only through the participation and contribution of local community members that a sustainable future can be achieved. Low-cost methods have also been implemented within the site to achieve the closing of the natural-resources cycle through recycling and up-cycling waste material in a creative and efficient manner. The project has been designed with an economic timeline in mind; each year it will gather more monetary resources in order to fulfill their renewable-energy device needs such as solar panels and wind turbines.

Serkalem Bogale

Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering, Ethiopia The task in project II is to develop a concept with limited resources for a not well-developed urban area, which previously was an industrial urban district. During the propro ject work, I have learned how involving stakeholders and communities are crucial for the sustainability of a site’s development. Within the development of process, resource efficiency had a high emphasis, which is manifested by applying systems that integrate water, energy and material aspects. Moreover, I have learned how to manage available water resources and calculated the water demand for an urban area, how to distribute the water within the site, how to generate energy from different types of sources and how to manage material by recycling and up cycling approaches.

The main idea of the project is developed from the conditions of Oberhafen site itself, which means implemented with its present future condition of many years. By being part of the Hafencity, the Oberhafen site should be able to conduct some standards of the sustainability, innovation and community driven approach. Since the site is rich in history, post-industrial concepts should play a big role for the future development of the site. It should be emphasized that sustainability, post-industrial and communal are the main core aspects of the project.

Betelhem Demissae

Architect, Ethiopia

The current global environmental problems and challenges have gathered, as all to look for mitigations methods and solutions. The different analysis made on the problems has so shown as the greater importance of interdisciplinary studies.

As an architect who grew up in the Great Rift Valley and the tropics of Ethiopia, I am well aware about the global environmental problems that exist all over the world. I believe the causes are similar as the problems are global.

The Oberhafen has been planned to serve its very basic function as logistic and train station. The lack of sustainable development has left the site abandoned. This project aims to REAPify the place and change it to a quarter which plays its role on sustainable development. The project is done by considering the basic elements of planning which are energy, water and material, by integrating the community into every step of development.

I have learned the importance of sustainable planning not only into new projects, but also into existing ones so that we can achieve the greatest global goal. I want to stress on the importance of sustainable urban development to all cities regardless of their location.

Aissa Putri

Architect, Indonesia grad PROJECT 2: REPAIR it Oberhafen gives an extreme thrill for me. This is the first project in which I involve deeply in every aspect of the planning process. Even as a fresh graduated architect, to involve in such a project is not new. However, at that time what we inspected, saw and analyzed is just a case in which data and additional aspects were already given and limited. What should be built was also limited and already decided, led to a limited and monotone idea. In REPair it! Oberhafen; work and ideas are unlimited.

One will search for a real- time case study, in which one deals with real people in the site, scrapping all clues and data by oneself, and giving an opportunity to decide the future of the site without any limit. The most crucial part: one has its own, professional team, which is made by people with different background, personality and nationality, and will work together until the end of the project.

The variety will add a unique touch into the project, and will complement each other to give out the best suggestions and solutions for urban problems. This project gives me an opportunity to feel the atmosphere of a real urban project, which is not a small scale either. Including an economic, social and environmental aspect is also a new experience, and gives a real value into the project, makes it as an overall planning project I have ever done.

Krupskaya Ramírez Architect, Ecuador

In my experience as an architect, I have learned that designing urban areas can be a successful practice only by integrating public participation. I do believe that citizens are the main factor for developing urban areas. Since they probably know well the specific problems of cities, that architects or urban planners might not consider or have forgotten. Citizens should be encouraged to participate into the transformation process and development of cities, in order to create sustainable places that can provide a better quality of life for its inhabitants.

Through the project work in the Oberhafen area, this site has shown to have a high potential to be successful transformed into a sustainable urban area made by the community for the community. Its natural conditions allow the implementation of innovative and green technologies to generate energy on-site, control flooding problems by managing stormwater and rainwater harvesting, as well as integrating recycling concepts to reuse materials to revitalize and regenerate the site. All these systems can be easily implemented by applying several approaches that can provide sustainable solutions not only to this urban area, but also to the city.

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