Selfconfident and coolly elegant in the Hanseatic style, this new nine-storey office and commercial building rises up in the heart of Hamburg city centre. Occupying what was for years an empty plot, this glass structure with its white fire walls makes a bold statement in the street, while still paying homage to local building traditions in terms of strong horizontal cornices and the vertical division of windows. The situation, on a narrow plot surrounded by dense urban development, presented a particular challenge as regards ensuring adequate daylight levels inside the building.