The listed Finnlandhaus on the Esplanade was built in 1966 for the Finnish Consulate General and the airline Finnair according to plans by Helmut Hentrich and Hubert Petschnigg, who are also responsible for its revitalisation. Due to its innovative suspended construction, Finnlandhaus already attracted considerable attention when it was built. This method of construction was solely due to the restrictive building lines, which did not permit an office tower with the planned dimensions to be built on the site. The individual storeys were therefore inserted one after the other from top to bottom along the load-bearing core. As a result, they are freely suspended above the ground floor, which is set back on the building line and designed as a shallow pavilion with a steel structure and floor-to-ceiling glazing, offering a generous amount of space without any supporting columns. While the twelve upper floors are used as office space, the ground floor serves as a foyer and retail space. During the renovation, the tower was stripped back to its shell and brought up to today’s standards in terms of its energy efficiency, building services and construction. No changes were made to the historical loadbearing system. Taking into account current technical and energy requirements, the façade has also been restored to its original condition in 1966. The external appearance of the building as a “modern classic” has been given a new lease of life and will continue to be an example of bygone times in the future.

Source: City profile magazine, issue Hamburg

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