Hamburger Architektur Sommer

Festival of Building Culture Since 1994

The Hamburger Architektur Sommer was created in 1994 in response to the need to make architecture visible beyond specialist circles. Today, 30 years later, it is the largest festival of building culture in Germany: over 270 events at approximately 150 locations spread over three months, curated by the Hamburg Chamber of Architects (HAK) and supported by architectural firms, universities, galleries, museums, neighborhood initiatives, and city archives.

11th Edition: "Nichts Neues – Besser Bauen mit Bestand"

The opening weekend from May 8 to 10, 2026, at URBANEO on Strandkai sends a clear thematic signal: "Nichts Neues – Besser Bauen mit Bestand" (Nothing New – Better Building with Existing Structures) is the overarching theme. With this, the HAK addresses the central debate in German building culture in 2025/26: moving away from new construction towards renovation, reuse, and energy efficiency upgrades. The motto will be explored further in the following weeks through exhibitions, discussion formats, and tours.

270 Events, 150 Locations

The geographical distribution is programmatic. The Architektur Sommer does not take place in a central festival hub but as a decentralized network: in architectural offices (open house days), at construction sites (guided tours), at universities (student exhibitions), in museums (special exhibitions), in neighborhoods (district tours with residents), in galleries, and in public spaces (installations, performances). In this way, the entire city becomes a stage – HafenCity, Speicherstadt, Altona, St. Pauli, Wilhelmsburg, Bergedorf, the Walddörfer.

URBANEO as the Main Center

URBANEO – Junges Architektur Zentrum (Young Architecture Center) – on Strandkai in HafenCity is the main information center in 2026. The opening weekend takes place here, exhibitions and events run throughout the summer, printed programs are available here, and the HAK's educational programs are organized here. A second information pavilion is located at Sandtorkai.

In the District of Hamburg-Mitte, State of Hamburg

Since the major urban planning initiatives of the early 2000s, HafenCity has been Hamburg's most prominent urban expansion project – a flagship waterfront district that has itself become a stage for Architektur Sommer debates. Within the state of Hamburg, the Architektur Sommer is an important contribution to regional identity: no other major German city has a comparably continuous and broad-based building culture festival. With the International Garden Show (IGS) 2013, IBA Hamburg 2013, and the HafenCity development, the Hanseatic city has been particularly active in architectural policy for over two decades – the Architektur Sommer is the cultural consolidation of these activities.