This large angular building is located on a site of approximately 6,000 m2 (1.5 acres), spanning the Fischertwiete Street in Hamburg.

[1] The Chilehaus building is famed for its top, which is reminiscent of a ship's prow, and the facades, which meet at a very sharp angle at the corner of the Pumpen- and Niedernstrasse.

Because of the accentuated vertical elements and the recessed upper stories, as well as the curved facade on the Pumpenstraße, the building has, despite its enormous size, a touch of lightness.

The building has a reinforced concrete structure and has been built with the use of 4.8 million dark Oldenburg bricks.

The cost of construction is difficult to determine, as the Chile House was built during the period of hyperinflation that struck Germany during the early 1920s, but is estimated to have been more than 10 million reichsmark.