Hamburg State Opera proposal
Die Neue Hamburgische Staatsoper
2025
Introduction
As one of five invited to submit proposals for the landmark project on the Baakenhöft peninsula in the eastern part of HafenCity, Snøhetta's design merges architecture, landscape, and public life into a unified experience rooted in the city’s maritime identity and HafenCity’s evolving urban fabric.
Technical details
Kühne Foundation and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
A Landmark of Openness
While designed to become the new home for the Hamburg State Opera, State Ballet, and State Orchestra, the building’s plazas, foyers, and terraces are planned to be accessible beyond ticketed performances, offering open space for gathering, reflection, and cultural exchange.
With a walkable roof and a 360-degree architectural presence the Opera is envisioned as a a civic stage and dynamic cultural landmark, a place where artistic expression, civic dialogue, and community life converge, extending the city’s public realm to the water’s edge.
Photo: Mir
Meandring garden
By integrating the stage tower within the building’s body, the opera offers the gift of a sheltered outdoor terrace. This generous platform serves both performance and recreation, with exceptional views across Hafencity, Hamburg and the Elbe. Accessed through a meandering garden that follows the river’s course, it is designed to ensure full accessibility.
Inside the building, the stages support grand opera, contemporary and cross-disciplinary performance, with adaptable acoustics and advanced technology.
Photo: Mir
Serving the whole community
Sustainability is a core principle. Social measures lower thresholds for access, ensuring this prime location serves the whole community. Material and lifecycle strategies prioritise locally sourced limestone and balance low- and high-carbon materials for durability and reduced impact.
Climate comfort is achieved through design logic and endemic plantings that strengthen biodiversity and foster a climate-specific ecosystem. These measures form a statement of ecological responsibility — an opera house for Hamburg today and for future generations.
Photo: Mir