New home for natural history in Hamburg

The global loss of biodiversity has accelerated dramatically in recent decades. In order to better protect habitats and restore damaged ecosystems, we need to better understand the interplay of species and the role of humans in the loss of biodiversity. In future, this will happen at the new Leibniz-Forschungsmuseum für Naturkunde in HafenCity: the new building will not be a traditional museum or a pure research institute. In future, the LIB - like the other major Leibniz research museums of natural history in Berlin, Frankfurt and Bonn - will reflect the triad that the Leibniz research museums stand for: Here, excellent research, innovative exhibitions, laboratories and space to house the scientific collections all come together under one roof. This results in very specific requirements for the building and therefore also for the location of the research museum. The steering group has now come out in favour of a new building on site 51.

Katharina Fegebank, Senator for Science: "We are very happy that we have found a new, prominent home for natural history in Hamburg after a long, intensive search. This is a great success for our science centre and for strengthening biodiversity research in Hamburg. The new LIB combines three important elements under one roof: excellent research, a comprehensive collection and exciting exhibitions. In this way, we can make important research areas tangible for museum visitors and link them to current topics, such as climate change or infection research. Research and knowledge transfer come together here in a forward-looking way."

Franz-Josef Höing, Chief Building Director: "The Leibniz Research Museum will have a perfect location in the centre of the city. On the east bank of Magdeburger Hafen harbour, there is enough space for the building, whose face and design will need to be refined in the next few steps."

Prof. Dr Martina Brockmeier, President of the Leibniz Association: "I am delighted that the state of Hamburg has now made the next necessary decisions on the way to the new building for the Hamburg branch of the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change. The site that has now been chosen offers the opportunity to build a completely new research museum that meets the requirements of modern educational methods, a valuable museum collection and excellent research in one building. The chosen location, close to HafenCity University and the Elbphilharmonie concert hall, offers good connections to the local scientific community as well as excellent accessibility for visitors. The Leibniz Association is delighted to have gained another attractive location for a research museum in northern Germany."

Prof. Dr Bernhard Misof, Director General of the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB): "We have now taken a big step forward: I am delighted with the decision in favour of this attractive, central location for the new natural history museum in HafenCity! Hamburg is thus raising its profile in and beyond Germany as a beacon of science and its communication. Our Leibniz Research Museum will benefit enormously from the new opportunities to closely interlink and optimise the areas of research, collection and exhibition. In the centre of Hamburg, a sustainable museum building and concept will give us a unique opportunity to inspire enthusiasm for the beauty of nature, work to preserve it and thus effectively counter the biodiversity crisis."

Prof Dr Matthias Glaubrecht, scientific project manager: "The first piece of good news is that Hamburg - so many decades after the destruction of the old Natural History Museum during the war - is now actually getting a magnificent natural history museum again with the "Evolutioneum". And the second piece of good news is that this is to be realised not only in a central location, but in a front row, so to speak, and in the best location in the city. This will not only provide a home for an integrated research museum based on collection, research and exhibition. Above all, it is important to me that we will be able to use innovative ideas of knowledge transfer to present the important and central topic of the biodiversity crisis and the role of humans as an evolutionary factor to visitors. The task now is to develop an architecturally spectacular shell for this."

About building site 51 in HafenCity
Together with other authorities and municipal stakeholders, the BWFGB has examined numerous plots of land and buildings in Hamburg, including potentially suitable sites in the city centre. Following this site potential analysis, the municipal steering group decided in favour of building site 51 in HafenCity, as this site fulfils the evaluation criteria best by far: The site in HafenCity is characterised by its central location and remarkable appeal. The new LIB is being built in the Elbtorquartier between Überseeallee, Shanghaiallee and Hongkongstraße - it is therefore close to HafenCity University (HCU) and the International Maritime Museum Hamburg (IMMH). This prestigious location with its waterside route along the Elbtorpromenade is expected to attract a large number of visitors. This means that the new LIB can also serve to link the city centre and HafenCity. Site 51 promises very good urban integration into the science and museum landscape.

Important criteria for the choice of location were the available space and the possible start of construction. In addition, there were urban planning criteria, such as the location of the site and the integration of the museum into the existing museum and science landscape. The natural connection to the Elbe also played a role, as did compatibility with the content development of the new exhibition and economic criteria.

As part of the site potential analysis, properties were rejected where the requirements of the new LIB could not be adequately met. For example, because the necessary building volume is not sufficient - i.e. the building plots are too small. This applies to the city centre sites on offer. In addition, the time availability of the sites was an important factor; some plots are not available in time. There were also sites that were no longer available in the course of the potential analysis because investors were planning other uses in the meantime. The BWFGB commissioned the HIS-Institut für Hochschulentwicklung e. V. to analyse the space requirements. Interim results are already available. The study will be available in full in spring 2023 and will provide an important basis for the subsequent architectural competition. The Hamburg Senate will later work with the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) to determine the proposal that best suits the LIB in terms of both urban planning and content. At the same time, the development of the content of the exhibition and education area will be driven forward.

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