BIG Wins International Competition to Design the New Hamburg State Opera on HafenCity's Waterfront

"BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group has been selected as the winner of the international competition to design the new Hamburg State Opera, a major cultural project planned for the Baakenhöft peninsula in HafenCity, Hamburg, Germany. The building will consolidate the city's opera and ballet companies under one roof, introducing new performance spaces, production facilities, and public amenities along the Elbe."

"Positioned between emerging high-rise developments and Hamburg's historic waterfront, the design draws from the city's long-standing relationship with the harbor. The opera is envisioned as a topographic structure shaped by a series of stepped terraces. These landscaped platforms rise from the water and frame a circular roof profile that opens toward the harbor basin. By merging architectural massing with accessible outdoor spaces, the project introduces a new public route that links the riverfront with the surrounding district."

BIG was selected to design the new Hamburg State Opera on Baakenhöft peninsula in HafenCity, consolidating opera and ballet companies with performance, production, and public facilities. The project replaces the mid‑20th‑century opera house on Dammtorstraße and meets contemporary standards in acoustics, stagecraft, and audience experience. The building sits between emerging high‑rise developments and the historic waterfront and takes a topographic form of stepped terraces that rise from the water and frame a circular roof toward the harbor basin. Terraces provide multiple access points, public routes, and outdoor gathering platforms with elevated views. The main auditorium uses curved timber balconies to shape acoustics and sightlines, with support spaces compactly arranged behind the hall.

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