• Phase one of construction is complete. Phase two includes a high-rise tower with a luxury hotel, restaurant, and retail space. Another phase two component, a five-story office block, is slated for completion in spring/summer 2010./p>

    Phase one of construction is complete. Phase two includes a high-rise tower with a luxury hotel, restaurant, and retail space. Another phase two component, a five-story office block, is slated for completion in spring/summer 2010./p>

Construction is under way in Hamburg-Harburg, Germany, on Eco City, a creative-industrial complex on the city's harbor. (See the city details at ecocity.de/en) Comprising 10 structures being constructed in three phases and designed by two firms—Los Angeles and Switzerland-based tecARCHITECTURE and global engineering company Arup—Eco City has one goal: to receive the highest possible rankings in three green rating systems. By the time construction is complete, the developers expect to have met Platinum requirements for the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program; Excellent standards for the U.K.’s Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM); and Gold certification from the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB).