, Hamburg's counterpart to Berlin's "Hamburger Bahnhof". They constitute one of the few surviving examples of industrial architecture from the transitional period between Art Nouveau and 20th-century styles. The two halls are open steel structures, the northern hall is a longitudinal edifice boasting three naves and a 3,800 sq.m. footprint; the southern hall (1,800 sq.m.) is a building with a lantern roof. Rupprecht Matthies created two "language cylinders" visitors can walk through for Deichtorplatz - which is also home to a Richard Serra sculpture. In the northern hall, there is a line of neon writing by Mario Merz and a "Blue Disc" by Imi Knoebel.
The Körber foundation gifted the restored Deichtorhallen to the City of Hamburg. In 1989, they were assigned to a limited liability company: Deichtorhallen-Ausstellungs GmbH. On Nov. 9, 1989 Deichtorhallen's international art exhibition program opened with the show "Einleuchten", curated by Harald Szeemann. Deichtorhallen Hamburg has emerged as an exhibition center for photography and contemporary art with three pillars of activities, three institutions under the single Deichtorhallen brand. Since 2009, Dr. Dirk Luckow has been Artistic Director of Deichtorhallen Hamburg.