Open today 11–18
Collection’s diary

Ülevi Eljand, 1979. EAM MK 177

Botanic Garden administrative building

The establishment of the Botanic Garden on the land of President Konstantin Päts’ farm in Kloostrimetsa began in the late 1950s. Initially, staff offices and business premises were located in the former farm buildings. The new administrative building was designed by architect Ülevi Eljand in 1979, but the building itself was not finished until 1988. The small white asymmetrical building, located in a park meadow, is one of the few neo-functionalist buildings in Tallinn. The north part of the building has a conference hall on two floors, on the south side of the building is a connected conservatory with a swimming pool and fireplace. In contrast to the front facade, the garden side is articulated by a staircase descending from the second floor hall. The model of the building was donated to the museum by the Tallinn Botanic Garden in 2008. A year ago in November 2022, the model was exhibited at the Valga Museum as part of the jubilee exhibition of architect Ülevi Eljand (1947-2023). Text: Anne Lass

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Peep Jänes, Henno Sepmann, Rein Kersten, Loona Kikkas, 1986. EAM 5.4.35

Opera and ballet theatre

Tallinn’s new opera and ballet theatre was planned to be built in the area of Süda Street, in the intersection of Pärnu Road, Süda Street and the planned extension of Rävala Boulevard. Architects Peep Jänes and Henno Sepmann won the invited architectural competition in 1984. A year later, together with architects Rein Kersten and Loona Kikkas, they began designing an opera theatre that meets modern requirements. The project of the new opera house was grandiose. The most spectacular part of the building, the brightest in the evening, was to be the curved glass facade. A powerfully shaped stage tower was to crown the central part of the building To balance the scale of the building, the choice of materials and colours was modest: grey reflective glass, silver grey glazed brick and dolomite, to make the building look harmonious with the historical buildings and Tallinn Town Wall. The theatre building’s large hall with four balconies had to accommodate 1,100 spectators. The choice of the location of the monumental building caused an active discussion in the society; there were both passionate supporters and ardent opponents. The new opera and ballet theatre would have significantly changed the milieu of the Süda Street area, the existing buildings would have been demolished and a number of trees, including the protected ginkgo tree, would have been cut down. To preserve the ginkgo, a square was planned in front of the opera house. The design process for the new opera house, which lasted several years, ended in November 1988 and the building was never constructed. Text: Anna-Liiza Izbaš

Andres Siim, 1989. EAM 5.4.9

The Architects’ House

The Architects’ House was to become the centre of Estonian architectural life, replacing the buildings destroyed during the war on the Apteegi Street in Tallinn’s old town. Among the 11 entries in the architectural competition, which ended in the spring of 1989, the design “Eclipse” by architect Andres Siim stood out. His work corresponded to the vision of the architects’ house and was awarded the first prize in the competition. The building had to be based on the structure of historically developed properties in the old town; the new building had to represent contemporary architecture in a dignified manner, while the volume of the building, the articulation of the facade and the roofscape had to match the milieu of the old town. The jury highlighted the conformity of the external and internal spatial solution, the multi-layered and interesting floorplan of the Architects’ House designed by Andres Siim. The narrow plots, characteristic of the old town, were clearly reflected in the facade design of the building, the special-shaped windows and the yellow section of the building added character. In addition to work and meeting rooms, a hall and library, cinema projection, archive and exhibition rooms and a cafe-club room were planned for the Architects’ House. Although the design of the building received positive feedback, the future progress of the project was difficult. The dream of an architects’ own house faded behind the bureaucracy of the authorities, construction and financial issues. A noteworthy project was not built. Text: Anna-Liiza Izbaš

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Voldemar Herkel, Mai Roosna, 1965. EAM MK 174

The passenger pavilion of the Port of Tallinn

The passenger pavilion in the Port of Tallinn was opened on July 7, 1965, when the travel connection between Tallinn and Helsinki, interrupted during the war, was restored. The pavilion, designed by architects Voldemar Herkel and Mai Roosna, reflected contemporary Finnish-influenced architecture. The walls of the pavilion were formed by shields with a load-bearing steel frame, which were filled with glass or partly with wood. The floor-to-ceiling glass walls of the building opened the view to the sea; wooden shields were used on walls where, based on the function of the rooms, more privacy was needed. In contrast to the wide white cornice of the horizontal roof, the building’s clapboards were covered with dark pine tar. Building ventilation and air heating pipes were placed inside the eaves, rainwater was drained from the corners of the roof. The unity of the interior and exterior of the pavilion was also important in the design. The suspended ceiling with strip lights used in the interior moved smoothly with the same rhythm over the ceiling of the canopy, the terraces of the building and the floors of the common rooms were covered with the same dolomite tiles. The partially landscaped courtyard in the middle of the building made the interior of the pavilion more spacious and added a little greenery to the harbour environment.There was a waiting room for international travelers in the seaside part of the pavilion, and a cafe-bar operated in the back of the room. A smaller waiting room in another side of the building was intended for passengers of local ship lines. In addition, there were offices, a currency exchange point and the foreign tourism office Inturist in the pavilion. The passenger pavilion was demolished a few decades after its completion. The model of the building was made by Peet Veimer in 2008 for the exhibition “Architect and his time. Voldemar Herkel” curated by Karin Hallas-Murula. Text: Anna-Liiza Izbaš

Heili Volberg, 1970. EAM 51.1.4

Pärnu Maritime School

In 1970, architect Heili Volberg designed an extension to the dormitory of the maritime school located by the moat in Pärnu. Spacious classrooms, an auditoorium and a sports hall, even a hairdresser’s office, was planned in the educational building. Pärnu Maritime School was closed and the project was not completed. The school dormitory was reconstructed and the Viiking health center was opened in the building at the beginning of August 1993. The boards of Pärnu Maritime School were designed by interior architect Aate-Heli Õun using the collage technique. The work was donated to the museum by architect Heili Volberg-Raig in 2013. Text: Anna-Liiza Izbaš

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Nora Tammoja, 1964. EAM 11.1.32

Children’s park in Sindi

Landscape architect Nora Tammoja has created numerous projects for urban green areas, cemeteries and children’s playgrounds. The design of children’s park in Sindi (Sindi Lastepark) was completed in 1964, the co-author of the project was architect Kaarel Pedak. The playground included playhouses and shelters, a climbing and sledding hill with a tunnel inside, a swing area, a traffic lane, a sandbox and a Robinson square. Robinson square was a playground construction site where children could build various buildings according to their imagination. The materials needed for construction were collected from various construction sites and were placed in the material warehouse on the playground. Since construction was considered primarily a boy’s activity, a separate play area for girls was planned in the park. The girls’ playhouse consisted of several rooms, one of which had a toy stove, and there was also a shop-pharmacy. In the middle of the playground was a two-way traffic lane with crosswalks and traffic signs. In the centre of the track was a circular traffic island intended for the position of a traffic controller. Sindi Lastepark with various play elements was mainly intended for preschool children and students of younger grades. On the back side of the project photo (EAM 11.1.69), it is noted that the work was awarded a silver medal at the National Economic Achievements Exhibition in Moscow in 1964. Construction work on the children’s park began in 1965, but probably not everything planned was completed. Text: Anna-Liiza Izbaš

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Tõnis Mihkelson, 1936. EAM 2.6.53

Mustamäe bathing facility

Under the lead of entrepreneur Johan Must, a bathing facility was built in Nõmme under the slope of Mustamäe. The town of Nõmme granted a construction permit for the facility in 1927, but the construction work was delayed due to land ownership disputes. In 1934, Johan Must acquired the necessary land. He received a loan from the Ministry of Economy to build a bathing facility, construction work began in the fall of 1935. Mustamäe bathing facility was designed by architect Tõnis Mihkelson. In 1936, a cafe building and a 50-meter swimming pool were completed. A year later, changing rooms, another slightly deeper pool, a water jumping tower and a swan pond were opened. In order to obtain a water temperature suitable for swimming, cold spring water was directed through four pre-heating pools, and artificial waterfalls were built to ensure water quality. A functionalist wooden cafe building was located between the two swimming pools. There were dressing rooms on the first floor, a balcony and a separate area for the orchestra on the second floor. In addition, a staircase was planned on the slope of Mustamäe, which led to Nõmme’s garden city. Domestic and international swimming competitions were held in the swimming pools, chess tournaments were regularly held in the cafe building. In winter, people could enjoy winter swimming and ice skating.The cafe building of the Mustamäe bathing facility was destroyed in 1974. Text: Anna-Liiza Izbaš

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