This mixed-use development is located right at the heart of the city center of Tallinn. The large-scale urban infill project is envisioned to become a gateway to the port area from the city centre as well as a key connection point to on-going development in the Rotermann Quarter next door.
When we got a commission we wondered how to design an inner city shopping mall without losing connection to its surroundings. In the cold climate the recently built shopping malls tend to enclose itself from outside in order to maximize the rentable space and to control the access, even in the city centre. But we would like to have street front blended into the existing street scape, at the same time to mark the entrance to the interior shopping street. Thanks to the slanted street alignment to the Narva street, the complex has got a triangular shape plaza in the front, which is partly covered with cantilevered eaves and building volume.
Our approach was to create differently treated passages through the complex to articulate the building volume and functions; up-scale retails, restaurants, office and apartments. Among those 3 parallel passages the main one is an indoor shopping street. The indoor street runs on the ground floor through the 3 building volumes, which is vertically connected with the office block via atrium. The second one, as a raised corridor, brings air and light to the middle of the block, designed together with benches, trees, and vegetation. The third one is a main delivery access for shops and driveway, which works as a buffer to the next property. Fortunately, we have saved an existing tall tree within this densely-built city block. All apartments and offices are equipped with balconies or terraces to enjoy exclusive private space at this very city center.
Location
Tallinn, Estonia
Year
2004-2007
Status
Completed
Size
29937 m2
Client
Foorum Kinnisavara OÜ
Design team
Hanno Grossschmidt, Tomomi Hayashi,
Liis Voksepp, Simone Leuenberger, Yoko Azukawa
in collaboration with
Hannes Praks, Margus Tammik (Kohvi)
Awards
Nominated for Annual Prize of Architecture by Cultural Endowment of Estonia in architecture, 2007
