Construction Crawls Ahead on Herzog + de Meuron’s Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg

Three years after construction began on Hamburg's ambitious <a href="http://www.elbphilharmonie.de/home.en">Elbphilharmonie</a>, work is still moving forward, but it still has a long way to go. The building, designed by the Swiss firm <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/herzog-de-meuron">Herzog &amp; de Meuron</a> (best known for the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing), will be an icon, but like many 'statement' buildings, Elbphilharmonie is far behind schedule and over budget.

The first six stories of the building, which will be used for parking, are being reused from a warehouse that previously occupied the site.

The building's unique roof features curved, swooping glass that resembles crashing waves.

The building was <a href="http://inhabitat.com/herzog-de-meurons-elphilharmonie-concert-hall-tops-out/">officially topped off</a> in 2010, but work on the roof is still moving forward.

The roof is made of a network of steel girders covering approximately 7,000 square meters.

The building's approximately 1,100 windows also present an engineering challenge.

Every window is unique, and they each weigh about 1.2 tons.

The building's balconies, which are located in the hotel and residential portions of the building, are encased in glass.

The U-shaped balcony frames are meant to resemble tuning forks, and they add to the building's visual interest from outside.

The windows also have a have reflective patterns printed on them, creating a frosted, iridescent effect.

The reflective patterns on the windows will help cool the building during the summer months.

Other windows bubble out several inches from the building's frame.

Windows are opened with small hatches that are meant to resemble the gills of a fish.

The entire facade surface area of the facade is 21,000 square meters.

The garage in the lower six floors will hold a capacity of 500 vehicles. It's one of the few buildings in Hamburg's HafenCity -- a neighborhood that discourages driving -- that offers abundant parking.

Construction is currently underway on the Grand Hall, which is located on the top floors of the building.

The Grand Hall will seat as many as 2,150. The building will also have two smaller recital halls that will seat about 550 each.

Part of the allure of the new building is its height -- 26 stories -- which towers over nearby buildings and will offer sweeping views of the city and the bustling harbor.

The building also bears a striking resemblance to the ships that fill Hamburg's active harbor.

In addition to the concert halls and garage, Elbphilharmonie will feature a hotel and 45 residential apartments.

A large plaza will span nearly the entire sixth floor, and it will be open to the public.

An architectural rendering of Herzog &amp; de Meuron's Elbphilharmonie

An architectural rendering of Herzog &amp; de Meuron's Elbphilharmonie at night

Another architectural rendering of Herzog &amp; de Meuron's Elbphilharmonie from Hamburg's harbor.

An architectural rendering of the Grand Hall in Herzog &amp; de Meuron's Elbphilharmonie

An architectural rendering of the interior of Herzog &amp; de Meuron's Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg, Germany

An architectural rendering of the swooping, curved windows on Herzog &amp; de Meuron's Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg, Germany

An interior rendering of the U-shaped balconies in Herzog &amp; de Meuron's Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg