Green Bunker Hamburg

Located right in the heart of Hamburg’s St. Pauli district stands a nearly 60-meter-tall bunker, which has recently made a name for itself as the Green Bunker. And rightly so: originally constructed as a flak bunker during World War II in 1942–43, the structure now features lush vegetation spanning several floors — a green landscape that is ultimately expected to comprise up to 23,000 plants. A publicly accessible roof garden offers breathtaking views of the Hanseatic city.

The path leads up the green-edged “Bergpfad” via stairs to the roof garden. This access route also serves as an emergency exit. Burkhard Wand from Hamburg was responsible for the lighting design and commissioned InstaLighting to illuminate the Bergpfad stairs. For this project, galvanized pipes with a diameter of 42 mm were specified. InstaLighting used the OHR1 N24 handrail lights with a mounting depth of 24 mm. This universal light module with fully encapsulated LED light elements is ideal for illuminating walkways. This narrow handrail allows for the creation of an asymmetrical light distribution to optimally illuminate the surfaces on the stairs. The advantage of the InstaLighting OHR1 N24 handrail light: it allows for installation in existing or closed handrail tubes. The openings can be laser-cut directly on-site or in advance by a metalworker. The lights are installed using special mounting brackets, positioned to the right and left of the light.

The selected light color is 3000 Kelvin; the luminaires are dimmable via DALI to adjust the brightness to nighttime conditions and Dark Sky standards. Because the luminaires are installed within a handrail, they are shielded and emit light exclusively toward the ground—no direct light is directed toward the sky. Additional lighting scenes are planned, and emergency lighting is also provided via the handrail luminaires. About two-thirds of the more than 300 luminaires use asymmetric light distribution, while the rest use symmetric light distribution.

The Green Bunker serves as a memorial while also providing space for artists, creatives, and events; it facilitates community projects and houses a hotel and restaurants. The Hilldegarden e.V. association has been a strong advocate for the communal use of the bunker. The greening of the building actively contributes to climate protection, with irrigation relying primarily on rainwater. In March 2025, the Green Bunker was honored with the MIPIM Award 2025 in the “Best Conversion” category at the world’s largest real estate fair in Cannes.