The architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has won a high-profile architectural qualification procedure with a spectacular design for the new home of the Hamburg State Opera in the HafenCity. A jury composed of representatives of the city and of the Kühne Foundation, as well as a number of external experts, voted unanimously in favour of the design. It envisages a striking opera house with a pleasant and landscaped roof which people can walk around. Furthermore, it is open on all sides, and thus makes it possible to see the Elbe and the city. Over the next two years, the winning design will be honed to perfection through close consultation between the Foundation, the city and the Hamburg State Opera, the future user. After the completion of the comprehensive prior planning and the compilation of realistic cost estimates, the Kühne Foundation will reach a decision about the feasibility of building the new opera house. The envisaged location is the Baakenhöft site in the HafenCity, which is on the banks of the river Elbe.
Visualisierungen des Siegerentwurfs
After the due completion of the requisite theatre-specific prior planning, the architectural qualification procedure was organized and implemented by the Hamburg State Opera Projekt gGmbH. The jury confirmed that the design submitted by the team from the Bjarke Ingels Group was a carefully considered concept and a convincing example of urban planning. It was a "successful symbiosis of an excellent location for an opera house and an exciting landmark for all the citizens of Hamburg." The jurors made a point of praising the facade and the overhanging roofs which generated a cascade of elegant balconies. "In so many words this creates a spiral of roof gardens in which native trees, shrubs and grasses will be planted. People will be able to access and visit them. Thus it will be possible to walk right round the opera house in order to enjoy views of the city, the HafenCity and the harbour." The design is no doubt going to become an icon after dark, since its outspread "petals" that are illuminated from below will resemble an ascending flower.
The architects are delighted to have won the qualification procedure. Bjarke Ingels, Founder and Creative Director, BIG: "The new Hamburg State Opera inhabits an island at the heart of HafenCity bookended by the vertical landmarks of Elbphilharmonie and Elbtower. The opera will appear like a landscape of concentric terraces – emanating like soundwaves from a central beating heart of music, expanding outward into the harbor like ripples in the surface of the sea.
The result is a three-dimensional public park open and accessible from all sides, with expansive views in all directions – to the old city and the new, to the Lohse Park and the Industrial Port.
We are honoured to have been chosen to imagine this key puzzle piece of the transformation of Hamburg’s Haven City, and we are deeply grateful to the Kühne Foundation to be entrusted to turn their generosity into the city’s new epicenter for the performing arts."
Dr. Peter Tschentscher, First Mayor of Hamburg: "The new State Opera will provide the very best resources for art and culture, and will become one of the leading opera houses in the world. The design presented today is architecture at its best, and this will have an impact on the silhouette of the HafenCity. The Baakenhöft area and the new opera house will become an attractive and indeed unusual location for all the citizens of Hamburg. I wish to thank all of the architecture firms for participating in the competition and the jury for selecting the winning design."
Klaus-Michael Kühne, President of the Board of Trustees of the Kühne Foundation: "My Foundation intends to build a high-end opera house in Hamburg’s HafenCity. We are delighted by the fact that in this project we shall be working together with the prestigious architecture firm of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) from Copenhagen. Together with the City of Hamburg and the Hamburg State Opera we want to create a unique venue for all those citizens of Hamburg who are passionate about opera."
Dr. Carsten Brosda, Hamburg Senator for Culture and Media: "It really is an impressive design, and here at last a spectacular idea has become visible. BIG combines the opera house and a park to create an attractive work of art. We will be rethinking all aspects of the Hamburg State Opera for the 21st century. And we will create a spectacular venue for everyone. I am most grateful to the Kühne Foundation for this unique opportunity and am looking forward to making it reality."
Dr. Jörg Dräger, Executive Director of the Board of Trustees of the Kühne Foundation: "On the basis of the BIG design the Kühne Foundation is hoping to finance a highly unusual building which fits harmoniously into the HafenCity, makes it possible to enjoy wonderful opera performances, and creates an outstanding venue in Hamburg where the Elbe, the harbour, the city and culture can be enjoyed at one and the same time. We are now entering the crucial planning phase in which we will have to align architecture, functionality and cost effectiveness in such a way that by the end of 2027 we will be able to reach a positive implementation decision."
Franz-Josef Höing, Chief Urban Planning Director of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg: "The new opera house at the end of the Baakenhafen demonstrates in an impressive manner what architecture can achieve in such a special location. It is appropriate, open, serene, accessible, there are green plants everywhere. It is striking, and yet avoids emotional exaggeration. The house looks out on all sides in the same way, and the open spaces on the waterfront are going to be very pleasant indeed."
Stefan Behnisch, Chairman of the Jury, Behnisch Architekten Partnerschaft mbB: "This competition for an outstanding and exciting project was once again able to convince us that procedures designed to select a design can lead to the submission of a large number of different approaches and solutions. The participating firms have done sterling work, have presented convincing designs and have taken on this difficult task with a great deal of enthusiasm. After personal presentations by the firms and exhaustive discussions, the jury unanimously recommended the adoption of the winning design."
Tobias Kratzer, Artistic director of the Hamburg State Opera: "A building that reaches out to the city from all points of the compass. A park which with its winding paths literally confronts the opera with the world and the world with the opera; and a silhouette the lightness of which quite simply makes you feel better. The design of the Bjarke Ingels Group embodies in architectural form what we are trying to achieve at the Hamburg State Opera with our artistic endeavours. It is of course true that I have only been here for about 100 days. However, I not only feel that I have arrived, but that I have been given luxurious gifts. We are delighted! And we are looking forward to pursuing the detailed planning with the Kühne Foundation and the architects. For the benefit of our audiences and of our employees."
Dr. Andreas Kleinau, Executive director of HafenCity Hamburg GmbH: "This is what we were waiting for! An opera house that combines high-quality architecture with public access, with pleasant open-air spaces and all sorts of vegetation. It is a place where everyone can experience the Elbe and the HafenCity at their best. In future we will have to pool our resources and integrate these wonderful public spaces into the surrounding areas. We would be happy to welcome you to participate in this process."
In February 2025 the City of Hamburg reached agreement with the Kühne Foundation on a contract pertaining to the construction of a world-class opera house on the Baakenhöft site. This envisages that the HSO Projekt gGmbH will be responsible for supervising the construction of the new building, and that, after receiving the assent of the Hamburg Parliament, the Foundation shall agree to the participation of the City of Hamburg and the Hamburg State Opera. On top of this the city shall make the public areas around the new opera house accessible to all. The agreement envisages that the city will contribute €147.5 Million for any additional expenses that are location-specific, in particular foundation work and flood protection measures. This amount may not be exceeded. All other expenses relating to the construction of the new opera house will be borne entirely by the Foundation. After the building has been completed, it and the shares of the Foundation in the project organization shall be given to the city in the form of a bequest.
In September the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg reached agreement on a document which asks the Hamburg Parliament to give its assent to the contract. This is currently being debated by the Parliament.
The following internationally renowned architecture firms participated in the qualification procedure and the spatial planning advertised by HSO Projekt gGmbH:
- BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group, Copenhagen
- gmp international GmbH, Hamburg, with Diller Scofidio & Renfro, New York
- Prof. Jörg Friedrich | Studio PFP GmbH, Hamburg
- Snøhetta, Oslo
- Sou Fujimoto, Tokyo / Paris
The jury included:
- Stefan Behnisch (jury chair), Architect, Behnisch Architekten Partnerschaft mbB
- Dr. Carsten Brosda, Minister of Culture and Media
- Dr. Jörg Dräger, Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees, Kühne Foundation
- Katharina Fegebank, Minister of the Environment, Climate, Energy and Agriculture
- Karl Gernandt, Member of the Board of Trustees, Kühne Foundation
- Franz-Josef Höing, Chief Urban Planning Director
- Dr. Andreas Kleinau, Chief Executive Officer, HafenCity Hamburg GmbH
- Tobias Kratzer, Artistic Director of the Hamburg State Opera
- Dorte Mandrup, Architect, Dorte Mandrup A/S, Copenhagen
- Karen Pein, Minister of Urban Development and Housing
- Prof. Matthias Sauerbruch, Architect, Sauerbruch Hutton Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH, Berlin
- Dr. Thomas Staehelin, Member of the Board of Trustees, Kühne Foundation
- Günther Vogt, Landscape Architect, Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten AG, Zürich
- Three members of the Hamburg Parliament.
Images of the winning design may be downloaded from www.hamburg.de/oper. They may be used for your report as long as you mention the copyright - © BIG & Yanis Amasri Sierra, Madrid, Spain.
From 14 November until 30 November the designs will be exhibited in the HafenCity. Please go to Kesselhaus, Am Sandtorkai 30, 20457 Hamburg.
Opening times: Friday 14 November from 15:00 p.m., otherwise:
Tuesday to Friday: 10:00–17:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 11:00–17:00 p.m.
Monday: closed
Free admittance
For information about the new opera house please go to: www.hamburg.de/oper
For more information please contact
Kühne Foundation
Dominique Nadelhofer | Press officer
Telephone: 00 41 79 128 03 27
E-Mail: dominique.nadelhofer@kuehne-foundation.org
Internet: www.kuehne-stiftung.org
Department of Culture and Media
Enno Isermann | Press officer
Telephone: 040 42824 207
E Mail: enno.isermann@bkm.hamburg.de
Internet: www.hamburg.de/bkm
Instagram: @bkm_hh
LinkedIn: Behörde für Kultur und Medien