SOS Children's Villages is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to youth welfare services. Beyond its 16 children's villages across Germany, the association operates a comprehensive network of facilities—from youth support services and family counselling centres to community spaces for adults with intellectual disabilities. For nearly 50 years, SOS Children's Villages has served the Hamburg districts of Eidelstedt, Eimsbüttel, Hamburg-Nord, and Wandsbek, providing tailored counselling and care for children, young people, and families. The organisation has made particularly strong roots in Dulsberg, one of Hamburg's most under-resourced neighbourhoods, where over half of all children grow up in single-parent households. The new facility directly addresses the pressing needs of this community.

In August, the SOS Family Centre in Dulsberg moved into a new building—the "Harbour for Families"—entirely funded through donations. Architect Carsten Roth designed and realised this landmark structure, prominently positioned at Straßburger Platz. The building serves dual purposes: it provides a new home for SOS families and creates a vital public gathering space for Dulsberg residents—a place for connection, learning, and support. Across approximately 1,000 m² of land, the centre expanded into generous new spaces while three residential units were integrated into the building's rear section. Here, up to four children who cannot live with their biological parents reside with their SOS caregivers in a true family setting, receiving round-the-clock care.

The building's composition is thoughtfully tripartite: three storeys in the northern wing and four storeys facing the church rise only to the height of neighbouring residences, carefully respecting the distinctive, largely heritage-protected urban character of the Fritz Schumacher-designed Dulsberg settlement. A single-storey connector runs between them, allowing the district's iconic landmark—the Frohbotschaftskirche's steeple—to maintain its role as a visual anchor and spatial reference point. The façade's articulation responds to its functional use, clad in terracotta elements of fired clay that echo the brick tones of the surrounding streetscape. The ground-floor public realm, oriented toward Straßburger Straße, functions as a vital community hub, featuring a spacious family café, children's clothing shop, and multipurpose course spaces.

www.carstenroth.com
www.sos-kd-hamburg.de

Photography Credits:

Klaus Frahm/arturimages
www.klaus-frahm.de

(Published in CUBE Hamburg 04|21)