Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier to become city's latest district

The grand opening of Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier on April 8, 2025 comes one year later than planned after water damage and technical problems had led to three postponements. Locals can now look forward to a week of festivities to mark the launch of the new district. The housewarming, maritime-themed party on the opening day will be followed by all kinds of fun-filled events from April 9-12 highlighting a different area every day - from innovation and the future, culture and dining, to leisure and lifestyle. Singer-songwriter Rita Ora will ring in the summer with a live performance on the riverside promenade on June 21, 2025.

The retail, catering, entertainment and cultural areas is 94% let. According to URW, which has invested around EUR 2.446 billion in the development, interest in the remaining space remains keen despite higher construction costs and compensation payments, which have almost doubled on the heels of delays. Architects from all over Europe have worked on the 14-building complex. The master plan was drawn up by HPP International in Düsseldorf, while ATP Asymetria in Krakow has co-ordinated all the work. The design of "The Yard" office block by Lederer Ragnarsdóttir Oei in Stuttgart was inspired by the Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale) in Venice. The two Luv & Lee Towers with with 19,656 square metres of space on 13 floors were designed by Dutch architects UNStudio. The 73-metre-high Skysail with space for 1,650 workstations, was designed by French architect Christian de Portzamparc while the Stuttgart-based Werner Sobek is the brain behind the spectacular, glass and steel roof consisting of almost 8,600 parts resting on 34 columns.

The Hamburg-based architect Carsten Roth designed the luxury Eleven Decks residential tower with 306 terraced flats and a green inner courtyard while Franz-Josef Nähring of KBNK architects is responsible for "The Lyte"  with 83 apartments and three penthouses on 16 floors. No less than  80,500 square metres of retail space is available in nearly all the buildings and mainly on the ground and basement floors. The 14,000 square metre luxury department stores' Breuninger and the Thalia Group have opened shop on the upper floor. Around 40 eateries, divided into four themed areas, offer everything from a gourmet experience in "The Waterfront" to casual dining in "The Neighbourhood" or unusual food  in "The Kitchen" to a sweet treat in "Coffee & Deli" and are the latest additions to the new Hamburg food cluster.

Those in need of an escape from reality can relax in the new multiplex cinema. Kinopolis HafenCity features ten screens with almost 2,200 seats and offers cinemagoers D-Box motion seats that move in sync with the image and sound. Try out the 1,700 “Port des Lumières” for an otherworld experience in Hamburg’s first permanent centre for immersive art. The opening exhibition "Gustav Klimt: Gold in Motion" is devoted to the main figures in the Viennese art scene of which Gustav Klimt was a key figure. Visitors can also gaze at Friedensreich Hundertwasser’s colourful spiral motifs as well as contemporary art. “Journey “, an experimental journey by the Turkish collective Nohlab, focuses on the genesis of photons as one of the primary elements of light. This abstract-sounding dynamic, colourful world has many surprises in store.

Sustainability is also an issue in Hamburg’s newest district and is well on course. The Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier was the first urban quarter in Germany to win the BREEAM Communities' “excellent“certificate. The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM) rates the entire life cycle of buildings in nine categories including transport and awards an overall rating. Two public bus lines and a metro station service the Überseequartier while an hvv switch point adds car-sharing and ride-pooling services to the offer. Around 2,500 car parking spaces are planned and more than 3,500 for bicycles.
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