Harburg’s Schlossinsel Park: a new green lung in the city

The Harburger Schlossinsel Park is undergoing an obvious transformation as a playground nears completion with lots of new equipment to play on, plus walkways, lawns and planted areas. Some of the planned 240 trees have already been planted. An area formerly used for port operations and industrial purposes thus is being re-purposed with the IBA (International Building Exhibition) Hamburg Schlossinsel Park project in collaboration with the Harburg district authority’s urban greenspace department – the open space is being transformed to become the green lung of the Elbe island, and in future will feature a high-quality recreational area for local residents and workers. The park brings an improvement in quality of life for the new residential and commercial districts going up around it. To commemorate this, on Thursday, 10 May, IBA director Uli Hellweg and Harburg district council chief Thomas Völsch presented the latest developments on Harburg’s Schlossinsel and symbolically planted a few new trees - as a sign of the district’s ongoing transformation from a former brownfield site to an attractive residential area.

Hamburg, 10 May 2012 – "The future IBA park will be the green heart of Harburg’s Schlossinsel! The new residents of the inner harbour will feel very comfortable here. It is gratifying to see how this area continues to grow and in the process to become a very special USP for Harburg, thanks to the successful combination of tradition and modernity," said Harburg District Authority head Thomas Völsch on Thursday at noon.
An international landscape architecture competition was held and in February 2010 the winner announced as the Zurich-based firm Hager Partner AG, according to whose designs the open park space is being laid out. In the first phase of construction a 1.5-hectare parking area is being built in the shape of a star radiating outwards from the centre of the Schlossinsel. Three of the four radii of the star-shaped park currently under construction will lead directly to the water, with wooden walkways providing the people of Harburg lovely views of the water from two wooden decks, which are likewise part of the park layout.

"I am especially pleased that we have been successful here on Harburg’s Schlossinsel in turning a former brownfield site into a beautifully landscaped community park. This first IBA Hamburg infrastructure project in Harburg will give future residents and workers in the district a quiet and inviting oasis in a pleasant atmosphere," said IBA director Uli Hellweg.
The centrally located playground, roughly 585 m² in size, features many different pieces of wooden equipment for children to play on, including a custom climbing landscape designed especially for the site. 


A highlight is the jungle gym made from thick ropes, but there are also more traditional playground elements for a variety of age groups, including a slide, a hammock, a birdcage swing and a separate toddler play area.
A total of 240 trees are to be planted, some of which are already in the ground. The trees will line the park’s grassy expanses, forming a natural border to the newly emerging residential areas.
Part of the tree-planting concept involves choosing fast-growing trees, such as alders, ashes, poplars, willows and elms.

Christina Dornbusch, Hager Partner AG: "The tree-planting marks the initial greening of the Schlossinsel after months of construction work. Trees are an important design principle informing the park planning concept. They reinforce the star-shaped layout of the park while placing the palace – and thus the site’s historical significance – at the centre. Trees are a critical component of the spatial structure of the park grounds, training visitors’ eyes towards the water and the palace and providing a backdrop for a variety of recreational activities." The park design also features approximately 1,500m² of plant beds.

The landscaped park will additionally include some 142m² (running metres) of seating steps designed for relaxing, lounging and taking breaks. These will be complemented by an additional 155m of seating elements, some of which will include boards with images and blueprints documenting the history of the location. Also integrated in the park will be eleven benches with backs, eleven rubbish containers, and seven bike racks.    


Follow this link for recent photos of the event and images of the project:

Link: http://iba-hamburg.eyebase.com

PIN code: 4WCt5jd9 



For more information, please contact:

IBA Hamburg GmbH, Kristina Hödl, Director of Media Relations,

kristina.hoedl@iba-hamburg.de, Tel.: +49 (0)40 / 226 227 335, or Anna Vietinghoff, Media Relations, anna.vietinghoff@iba-hamburg.de, Tel: +49(40) / 226 227 – 331 or presse@iba-hamburg.de

Harburg District Authority, Petra Schulz, Press and Public Relations, petra.schulz@harburg.hamburg.de; Tel.: +49 (40) 428 71-4010