Unilever building, Corporate headquarters in HafenCity, Germany
The Unilever building is a corporate headquarters in HafenCity, Hamburg, positioned directly on the Elbe riverfront, with a largely glass facade and a central atrium that lets natural light into the interior. The structure sits among other modern buildings along the waterfront and follows the general architectural language of the district.
The building opened in 2009 as part of the broader development of HafenCity, a former port area that was being converted into a new urban district. Unilever moved its German headquarters there from an earlier location in central Hamburg.
The ground floor of the building has cafés and shops open to anyone passing through, so it does not feel like a closed-off corporate space. On warmer days, people tend to gather near the waterfront terraces just outside.
The building is located in HafenCity and easy to reach by public transit, as the U4 subway line runs nearby. Since it is an active workplace, most of the interior is not open to the public, but the ground-floor spaces and the waterfront outside are freely accessible.
The building uses thermally activated concrete ceilings that cool in summer and warm in winter without a conventional air conditioning system. This technology is built directly into the structure and invisible from the outside.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
