New Beiersdorf Campus in Hamburg

In September 2023, the global skincare company Beiersdorf opened the New Beiersdorf Campus in Hamburg. On 51,000 square meters, there is now space for over 3,000 employees – who can also work in the green here. More about the design of the outdoor facilities by Mertins Landschaftsarchitektur here.

With its new campus, Beiersdorf AG wants to show how it lives its responsibility towards nature, people and the environment. This served Mertins Landschaftsarchitektur as a guiding principle for the design of the outdoor facilities. For example, the previously private open spaces along the public road were opened up so that passers-by can now walk on the sidewalk as well as on the Beiersdorf AG grounds. However, the interior of the site with its garden remains private. Here, Mertins Landschaftsarchitektur has designed a diverse garden landscape that is suitable for both breaks and work.

The New Beiersdorf Campus brings together employees from two different locations in the heart of Hamburg. This is where the history of the global consumer goods group began over 140 years ago. As the new headquarters and extension of the research center, the ultra-modern yet timeless and sustainably designed building serves several purposes at once. The campus is intended to lay the foundations for further growth and at the same time focus on the well-being of the employees.

The garden in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel also serves these purposes: anyone entering the site via the side entrance now walks through the flowering gardens to reach the administration building. In addition to the many modern spaces in the building of the New Beiersdorf Campus designed by Hadi Teherani, the outdoor areas also offer space to work – a total of 4,000 square meters, which are intended for collaborative work and team cohesion.

The garden is also an oasis of calm. Evergreen hedges surround retreats for individual and team work as well as for lunch. As a habitat for insects in the city, the hedges and surrounding plants also have an additional purpose. Above all, however, the garden landscape is intended to represent a New Work environment as a future-oriented working environment.

“As a basic idea for the garden landscape, we want to convey the impression of a flowing transition from the architecture through the garden into pure nature. The uniform, controlled planting structures gradually dissolve from the building. The further we move away from the building, the more diverse and small-scale the character of the planting becomes,” says landscape architect and perennial expert Christian Topp from Mertins Landschaftsarchitektur.

This means that block planting near the building façades will gradually change to mixed planting, followed by matrix planting and a small-scale wild meadow. A sea of blue and white flowers is intended to evoke the classic Nivea colors. Meandering paths run between the plants and lead to small squares surrounded by hedges.

The garden landscape is bordered by bands of grasses along its entire length to the north and south. Medium-sized trees and individual shrubs provide additional structure. And a pond landscape, several roof gardens, restaurant terraces and the square in front of the main entrance provide variety. Another new feature is the reflecting pool by the gleaming silver auditorium, which offers a variety of reflections both inside and out with its water surfaces.

Read more: There is also a new master plan for the Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg and its open spaces.