Construction, Estonia, Forum, Good for Business, Real Estate

Deputy Head of the Tallinn City Planning Board Oliver Alver said that the very good solution for the outdoor areas and the beach promenade offered by the winning design will significantly improve people's access to the sea.

The winning team is made up of Marianna Zvereva, Andres Ristov, Andrea Ainjarv, Grete Liis Nagelmann, Hanno Grossschmidt and Tomomi Hayashi from Hayashi -- Grossschmidt Arhitektuur and Kadi Nigul, Kristian Nigul and Kadri Uusen from VALI landscape architects. 

"Our underlying idea was that the point of the new layer created by us is to open up the building of the sea fortress, give it new meanings, opportunities, and create a harmonious environment for new users. Figuratively speaking, we tried, respecting the historical heritage, to bring out the other side of the sea fortress which in a way had been hidden there all this time," said Hanno Grossschmidt, partner with Hayashi -- Grossschmidt Arhitektuur.

Tarmo Pohlak, construction director at the property's developer US Real Estate, said all the entries were high quality and choosing a winner was not easy for the jury.

The deciding jury was assisted in its work by experts from the fields of energy efficiency, civil engineering, heritage protection and art history who analyzed the designs. 

Hayashi -- Grossschmidt Arhitektuur will start designing the courtyards and outdoor areas of the sea fortress in cooperation with Arhitekt 11, the chief designer of the reconstruction of the sea fortress originally completed in the mid-19th century.

All the entries filed in the competition can be viewed from Thursday at the Gorzh courtyard of the Patarei sea fortress from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. 

The reconstruction of Patarei is scheduled to be completed in 2026. Discussions with the first potential tenants have already begun.