Deichtorhallen

You find the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg near the Hafencity, two open shells of steel and glass. The pair went up between 1911 and 1913 as market halls on the site of the former Berliner Bahnhof. They exemplify industrial architecture at the transition from Art Nouveau to twentieth-century design, and few of their kind survive. The halls belong to the Kunstmeile, a route linking Hamburg's art institutions, and offer wheelchair access.

The complex ranks among Europe's largest centres for contemporary art and photography. The international exhibition programme opened on 9 November 1989 with 'Einleuchten', a show curated by Harald Szeemann. Wolfgang Tillmans, Martin Parr and Gilbert & George have all shown there. The northern hall is a longitudinal building of three naves, with a footprint of 3,800 square metres. The southern one, 1,800 square metres beneath a lantern roof, became the House of Photography in 2003. Since 2011 the Sammlung Falckenberg in Harburg has joined the complex as a satellite location.

The buildings also house their own installations: Rupprecht Matthies' language cylinders and a Richard Serra sculpture out on Deichtorplatz. Inside the northern hall, you find a line of neon writing by Mario Merz and a 'Blue Disc' by Imi Knoebel.