Andres Alver, Tiit Trummal, 1991. MK 223

Leverex business centre

In 1991, architects Andres Alver and Tiit Trummal designed a business centre on the territory of the former Kalev company on Pärnu road. The office building project, designed for Leverex, is characterised by a clear geometry of form, an articulated facade and a large glass wall surface on one side of the building. The 12-storey building was to include office space, a conference centre, restaurants, cafes, bars and saunas. A helipad was designed on the roof. A shopping centre with a showroom was planned next to the main building. The Leverex business centre is a timeless example of a project designed in the first half of the 1990s but never built. Architect Andres Alver donated the model to the museum in 2016. Text: Anna-Liiza Izbaš

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• 1990s
• Andres Alver
• Tiit Trummal

Olev Randur. EAM 53.1.9

Smithy of the Tallinn hippodrome

The grand opening of the Tallinn hippodrome took place on November 25, 1923. A suitable location for horse racing was found in a raw land between Paldiski road and Kopli Bay, neighbouring the Seewald hospital complex and the former Baltika brick factory. On the Paldiski road was a grand wooden gatehouse with ticket counters, designed by architect Karl Burman. The historicist wooden main building and grandstand were located next to the almost kilometre-long horse racing track. The limestone stable building, designed by architect Artur Perna, was completed in 1938 and is the only surviving building from the original hippodrome complex. During the Soviet period, the hippodrome was reconstructed, and new stables, a grandstand and a gate replaced buildings that had previously been destroyed and demolished. The design of the smithy by architect Olev Randur was probably completed in the second half of the 1960s, when he worked for SDI Eesti Maaehitusprojekt (state design institute of rural architecture) and a reconstruction plan for the hippodrome was drawn up. Text: Anna-Liiza Izbaš

• 1960s
• Olev Randur

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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• 1970s
• Ülevi Eljand

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

• 1980s
• Henno Sepmann
• Loona Kikkas
• Peep Jänes
• Rein Kersten

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

• 1960s
• Mai Roosna
• Voldemar Herkel

Veljo Kaasik, 1982. EAM K 31

Dialogue “Client-architect”

“Client-architect” by Veljo Kaasik is a visual dialogue between the architect and the client. The work depicting the design process of a private house located on Nisu Street in Tartu shows how the building is completed in cooperation between an ambitious architect and a demanding client. Both parties are connected to each other from the planning of the building until its completion. The architect’s imaginative ideas are often influenced by the different sense of aesthetic and disagreements of the parties involved. Mostly, compromises are made. The final result is more or less different than originally planned. Veljo Kaasik’s work was on display at the exhibition of ten architects in the salon of the Tallinn Art Hall Gallery (exhibition 23.12.1982–9.01.1983). Text: Anna-Liiza Izbaš

• 1980s
• Veljo Kaasik