Europa Passage

In the heart of Hamburg’s vibrant historical center, between Mönckebergstraße and Jungfernstieg, stands the impressive Europapassage. Spanning 142,600 square meters of gross floor space, the building features five retail levels, five office floors, and six parking levels. The excavation pit, dug to a depth of up to 25 meters and extending 160 meters in length, posed a particular challenge with a floor slab rising 60 meters to the roof and an enormous water pressure of 22 meters of water column in the basement.

This extraordinary excavation was secured using low-deformation slurry walls and an internal stiffening partial cover construction. In just 27 months of construction, the Europapassage, designed by Hadi Teherani, was completed with 120 stores. The building’s timeless natural stone facade and spectacular arch constructions, combined with sophisticated spatial penetrations and impressive sightlines, give it a unique elegance and modernity.

142.600 m²

StadtHamburgInvestorALIDA Grundstücksgesellschaft GmbH & Co.KGOrtHamburg, GermanyBauzeit2002 - 2006ArchitektBRT ArchitektenTypNew construction

Special features

In the heart of Hamburg’s vibrant historical center, an entire district was redesigned and redefined. To stabilize the building ground, the sheet piles extended up to 40 meters deep into the earth. The excavation pit itself reached a depth of 25 meters at its deepest point. Inside the passage, the impressive parabolic arch construction rises beneath the glass roof, with its peak reaching 25 meters high and resembling the slender hull of a wooden ship. In addition, five more office floors extend above.

Despite the impressive height and size of the new building, it never exceeded the historic height limits of the surrounding structures. The construction project, which spans almost the entire maximum building length of 160 meters, extends from Mönckebergstraße to the entrance arcades at Jungfernstieg. For 23 months, work continued around the clock amidst Hamburg’s active business environment—a logistical feat.

Technically demanding and innovative, the project utilized reinforced concrete skeleton construction, seamless cover construction, and the “white tank” technique. It also involved special steel custom constructions and connections to existing buildings. Additionally, the excavation required the construction of a new sheet pile structure, further highlighting the complexity and innovative nature of this project.

Building site: approximately 14,000 m²
Gross floor area: approximately 140,000 m²
Parking garage: 700 spaces
Construction costs: approximately 140 million EUR