In May of 2005, the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg invited five renowned architectural firms from its sister city, Chicago, to put forward ideas for Chicago Square, a proposed development on the harbor of Hamburg. The city of Hamburg desired to create a large-scale, 5-million-sf dense development of residential, hotel, office, and retail on the 2-acre site. The Chicago architects were also invited because of their experience with similar developments and high-rise construction. The scheme featured two high-rise office towers connected by a five-level retail bridge that also engaged two semi-circular hotels.
