EDEKA Award 2025: Students are shaping the future of Hamburg!

EDEKA Award 2025: Students are shaping the future of Hamburg!

On December 22, 2025, EDEKA Nord honored innovative designs for the future design of conversion spaces in Hamburg at the sixth EDEKA Award. This year, the spotlight was put on the projects of 29 master's students from HafenCity University Hamburg, who dealt with modern places of life and local supplies. At the end of July, the jury, led by Mirjam Lenzen, selected the outstanding ideas that will play a decisive role in shaping Hanover's urban development. The celebratory award ceremony took place on November 26th in the auditorium of HafenCity University.

The students presented concepts that focus not only on architectural aspects, but also on social and cultural dimensions. The projects were developed for the Altona-Diebsteich, Groß Borstel and Harburg locations, which were selected in close coordination with senior construction director Franz-Josef Höing and the district office managers. The aim was to reinterpret identity-defining places through urban planning and architectural interventions.

Prize winners and their visions

The winners of the EDEKA Award 2025 are a model example of creativity and innovative spirit. The award winners are:

• 1. Platz (1.500€): Saskia Carus, Adam Deger, Julius Kolbe, Mia Salveter (Standort Diebsteich).
• 2. Platz (650€): Simrat Gambhir, Pia Hollerbach, Anastasiia Roditielieva, Fenja Zufall (Standort Harburg).
• 2. Platz (650€): Lou Grabowski, Thore Ingwersen, Julian Lindner, Moritz Meinberg (Standort Harburg).
• Sonderpreis (200€): Niklas Kleber, Lennart Westheide (Standort Groß Borstel).

The award-winning designs offer new perspectives on urban development and actively contribute to the discussion about the sustainable design of urban spaces in Hamburg. EDEKA Nord, known for its commitment in the region and as one of the largest employers in northern Germany with 610 stores and a turnover of 4.1 billion euros, shows with this award that cooperation with educational institutions is of great importance. This initiative not only strengthens the connection between theory and practice, but also promotes forward-looking retail concepts in urban areas, as has already been demonstrated in previous editions of the award. The concept of these competitions is developed by the professorship “Urban Design – Urban Design” under the direction of Prof. Dott. Arch. Paolo Fusi directed.

Urban challenges and opportunities

The students' design processes included analytical approaches to the complex issues of place, heritage, identity and mobility. Synergies were created between mobility, logistics, food supply, culture and digitalization in order to create sustainable living spaces.

In the previous competitions, such as the EDEKA Award 2021/2022, the focus was on the redesign of central spaces in Hamburg, such as on Mönckebergstrasse, where innovative shopping concepts and state-of-the-art mobility approaches were presented. The EDEKA Award has established itself not only as a platform for the city's creative minds, but also as a pacesetter for the urban planning discussion in Hamburg.

Overall, such initiatives are highly relevant to making urban spaces lively and sustainable. EDEKA Nord combines regionality with innovation and not only offers its customers outstanding shopping experiences, but also actively shapes the city of tomorrow, as the current designs show.

For further information about the projects and the award winners, please visit the reports from idw online and edeka. You can find out more about general urban developments at urbainity.