The volumetry of the building was designed to respond, on the one hand, to the widening of the urban frontage of Am Neugrabener Bahnhof and to establish a dialogue with the police station located opposite, and, on the other hand, to participate in its urban integration in a fabric of activities in full change.

The project is made up of two low volumes with ground and first floors, adjoined by a taller, slimmer building whose façade extends along the main street. The shallow depth of the building creates a breakthrough from east to west in the urban block, thus bringing more natural light into the building complex. This newly created urban void is thus as much for the direct use of the future users of the project's offices as it is for the inhabitants of the neighbouring residential buildings, as a visually perceptible green and open space. The height of the roofs of the low volumes corresponds to the level of the opposite public footbridge, thus offering pedestrians a new planted landscape.

The main access for the public is located at the corner of Neugrabener Bahnhofstraße and Neugraben station, thus contributing to the animation of the intersection. The reception area is a triple-height space towards which all public waiting areas and children's play areas are oriented. The interior staircase is open, ensuring the legibility of the interior vertical circulation.

The southern part of the ground floor houses the functional areas of the building, as well as the courtyard for staff access. This separate access allows staff to access the upper office floors independently of the public circulation.

Given the functional clarity of the programme between public and private office spaces, the building is organised naturally from the ground floor to the upper floors: the lower floors contain all the public functions that are accessible to everyone, while the upper floors are given over to offices with limited access and a more private atmosphere.

The brick facade, characteristic of the Hanseatic region, is regularly patterned throughout the building, blurring the boundaries between the scale of use and that of the urban. On the scale of the building, it reflects the rational and functional organisation of its interior programme; while on the scale of the city, the double-height of each glazed module encompasses two levels, thus abolishing the programmatic limit of the building, and dedicating it to the city.

Client: Bezirksamt Harburg Bezirksamt Harburg /AMO: Sprinkenhof GmbH / Budget: 8.87M€ HT / Surface: 3 250 m² / Schedule: 2021-2026 / Team: LAN (lead architect), MARS (associate architect), R&P Ruffert Ingenieure (structure), PGMM (fluids), nees Ingenieure (fire safety)