Chilehaus
| Chilehaus | |
|---|---|
 Chilehaus in Hamburg by Fritz Höger | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Office building |
| Location | Hamburg, Germany |
| Completed | 1924 |
| Owner | Union Investment Real Estate AG |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Fritz Höger |
The Chilehaus (Chile House) is a ten-story office building in Hamburg, Germany, a prime example of brick architecture of the 1920s.
This enormous building spans a street, the Fischertwiete. The building is famed for its top, which is reminiscent of a ship's prow, and the facades, which meet at a very sharp angle at the corner of the Pumpen and Niedernstrasse. The best view of the building is from the east. Because of the accentuated vertical elements and the recessed upper stories, as well as the curved facade on the Pumpen street, the building has, despite its enormous size, a touch of lightness.
The building was designed by the architect Fritz Höger and built between 1922 and 1924. It was commissioned by the shipping magnate Henry B. Sloman, who made his fortune trading saltpeter from Chile, hence the name Chile House. The sculptural elements in the staircases and on the facade were provided by the sculptor Richard Kuöhl. The cost of construction is difficult to determine, as the Chile House was built during the period of hyperinflation that struck Germany during the early 1920s, but is estimated to have been more than 10 million reichsmark
The building is constructed on very difficult terrain, so to gain stability it was necessary to build on 16-meter-deep reinforced-concrete pilings. Also, the closeness to the Elbe river necessitated a specially sealed cellar, and the heating equipment was constructed in a caisson that can float within the building, so the equipment won't be damaged in the case of flooding.