The seven-story building, resembling a ship in its outlines and light color, was built in the area of the reconstructed city port of Hafencity, on the banks of the Elbe. Its main feature is a film cladding with a thickness of 0.25 mm and an area of 5,000 m2, reinforced on a "lattice" of steel beams, which covers the outside of its facades. It helps to cope with the strong winds characteristic of the North Sea coast and prevents the sun's rays from overheating the interior of the building.
The interior of the building is organized around an atrium with glass ceilings. It plays the role of a community center not only for employees (in total, at the headquarters, which manages the company's branches in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, there are about 1200 of them), but also for the townspeople: they can go to the store located on the ground floor, a spa center and cafes representing various brands of products, perfumes, household chemicals owned by Unilever. From the atrium, visitors will enter the bank of the Elbe, where the first public space in the renovated harbor has opened: a wide staircase descending to the water.
For the company's employees, the atrium is an “informal workplace” with staircases, galleries and bridges of various shapes. There are multi-colored sofas, tables and chairs for them, where you can discuss current affairs with colleagues.
Unilever's headquarters meet high energy efficiency standards and have already received a Golden Eco-label from the Hamburg authorities.
