Smart mobility in ROOTS – Germany's tallest wooden high-rise: WÖHR Combilift 551 maximises parking space in HafenCity

Four semi-automatic parking systems with 50 parking spaces and charging infrastructure support HafenCity's mobility strategy!

The ROOTS timber high-rise building rises up in the Elbbrückenquartier district of Hamburg's HafenCity – a 65-metre-high tower that serves as a reference project for urban timber construction in Germany. On a 3,200 m² site, ROOTS, together with the planned Elbtower, forms the eastern end of HafenCity and marks a landmark between the urban space and the water.

The Roots timber house in the heart of Hamburg's HafenCity
Spread across four systems, the Combilifts are installed in a space-saving manner in the underground car park layout

Living, working and learning under one roof

ROOTS combines 128 owner-occupied flats, 53 subsidised rental flats, office space and public uses such as the interactive exhibition ‘Botschaft der Wildtiere’ (Message from Wild Animals) by the German Wildlife Foundation, learning workshops and restaurants. The wood-concrete hybrid construction uses around 5,500 m³ of structural timber and demonstrates the potential of sustainable construction in an urban context.

Parking in the context of the mobility transition

The basement houses a communal underground car park with almost 100 parking spaces, accessed via two car lifts. In addition to conventional parking spaces, 50 spaces are arranged in a space-saving manner in four semi-automatic WÖHR Combilift 551 systems. This solution enables maximum space efficiency, reduces the need for underground car parks and lowers construction costs – an important contribution to the neighbourhood's sustainable mobility strategy, which also calls for space for car sharing.

Architecture and materiality

ROOTS is designed as a wood-concrete hybrid: load-bearing interior and exterior walls are made of wood, supplemented by reinforcing reinforced concrete cores. The ceilings are made of cross-laminated timber. A total of around 5,500 m³ of structural timber was used – a strong statement for climate-friendly construction. Prefabrication played a central role: ceiling elements measuring approx. 2.5 × 8 m and wall elements measuring around 3 × 8 m enabled precise assembly and short construction times. The visible wooden surfaces in the interior create a warm, natural atmosphere.
The façade is double-layered: a transparent glass skin protects against the weather and forms winter gardens, while the wooden façade behind it, made of untreated larch, characterises the building. This is complemented by clinker bricks on the ground floor and fibre cement panels in the base area – a mix of materials that complies with the design specifications of HafenCity.

Sustainable added value

WÖHR's compact parking solution supports the mobility transition, saves space and resources, and fits seamlessly into HafenCity's mission statement: mixed-use, vibrant urban spaces with sustainable mobility concepts. The combination of timber construction, efficient parking technology and reduced parking space ratios has resulted in a project that combines ecological responsibility with urban quality of life.

 

Technical specifications in detail

  • WÖHR Combilift 551 divided into 4 systems
  • 50 parking spaces
  • Platform load max. 2.6 t
  • Platform width max. 240 cm
  • Vehicle length max. 500 cm
  • Vehicle height max. 180 cm
  • Operation via RFID chip

Press office:

WÖHR Autoparksysteme GmbH
Daniela Wöhr
Ölgrabenstr. 14
71292 Friolzheim

E-Mail: Daniela.Woehr@woehr.de
Tel: +49 7044 46 134

Download press release

Press Release - ROOTS Hamburg
to the project Roots
to the product COMBILIFT 551