Dr. Sven Barckhahn is a Project Manager at HPC Hamburg Port Consulting. As a civil engineer with a doctorate and a specialist in port and rail infrastructure, he works on international projects involving port facilities, terminal layouts and logistics infrastructure. What fascinates him most are large dimensions — technically, spatially and personally.

When a huge shiploader suddenly appeared as if out of nowhere in the coastal desert of southern Peru, Sven Barckhahn’s heartbeat quickened. Travelling for a new port development project, he was captivated by the sheer scale of the equipment. “In this industry, we work with machinery whose dimensions can surprise and inspire you.” It is an experience he has encountered time and again over the ten years he has now been working for HPC Hamburg Port Consulting.

A railway master planning project in Chicago, USA, was also very much to his taste. “To grasp the enormous scale of the terminal, the client took us up in a helicopter,” he recalls as if it had happened only yesterday. When developing new terminal layouts, Sven deals with many operational details that need to be placed within the bigger picture. “It helps to understand the dimensions of a facility from different perspectives,” he says.

The Hamburg-based sports enthusiast likes to keep moving himself and always packs his running gear when he travels. To take in as many impressions as possible during business trips, he prefers to train outdoors — even in Qatar, in blazing heat along the pier to the fishing harbour, “where I could admire a fleet of traditional fishing boats as I ran past.”

Dynamism is what drives Sven. That is why he enjoys working on international projects with different experts in ever-changing team constellations, adapting to new settings each time. He describes his mental fitness programme like this: “Project diversity, immersing yourself in the country and its people for the intense duration of a project — all of this broadens my perspective.”

Sven also draws inspiration from the busy Port of Hamburg. He is particularly fascinated by the still somewhat raw nature of bulk cargo handling: “At first glance, you only see grabs, ships and cargo. But automation is advancing rapidly here as well, for example at Hansaport.”

For Sven, one place that combines relaxation and fascination is the restaurant "Strandperle" on the River Elbe — “the best spot to watch the giants of the oceans perform their turning manoeuvres up close.”