Complex, Tallinn

Tallinn has been in an active post-industrial urban mode for years now – factories and port activities are moving out, old industrial facilities are being renovated and turned into trendy, up-market loft apartments, commercial premises or clubs. From the Soviet period, the city inherited several industrial complexes right in the middle of the city. One of these is the picturesque Rotermann quarter, situated between the city centre and the port passenger terminal. The quarter derives its name from Christian Abraham Rotermann, the 19th-century founder of Rotermanni Factories Ltd. His family went on to become the country's leading flour and bread manufacturer and also set up a macaroni factory, a sawmill and other industrial plants. The complex was kept partly working throughout the Soviet years and it was still possible to buy macaroni there until the early 1990s!

Later on, the quarter was divided up and the unique landscape of tight-knit lanes and streets, historical limestone architecture and vast interior spaces was partly destroyed, partly renovated, but mostly held captive in a stressful silence. The new Rotermann commercial and residential complex, finished just before Christmas 2007, is clearly a flagship project that will stimulate further development of the quarter. The architecture of the new building responds sensitively to its surroundings – to the dense historical fabric, the need for an architectural landmark and a sensitive use of materials and surfaces, and the challenge to create a dynamic new urban zone in the still derelict quarter. The young architectural office Kosmos has succeeded in creating a spatial structure comparable to the famous medieval old town of Tallinn with its twists and turns and unexpected vistas.

Villem Tomiste, one of the authors of the architectural concept, explains that the spatial solution is inspired by their vision of city life. 'We first asked ourselves: how much volume is necessary to generate interest in the first place? Then, all four buildings look different by design, each generating a different effect, so that the surroundings would be full of variety. The decision to lift the free space between the buildings to the height of the first floor is also driven by our desire to create two active levels – the ground floor business level can be accessed both from the street and from the storey above.' The desire for a varied cityscape is also expressed in the materialization of the four buildings. In the original plan all the buildings were of brick, but in the final version two of them – the Brown and the White – were clad with precast concrete panels, which were then faced with glazed tiles. Furthermore, the bricks in the Black and the Red buildings are custom-made, designed by the architects themselves. 'The black bricks came from a factory production line and their pattern was produced by a specially designed bronze rolling press. The bricks for the Red building were moulded by hand and twelve different moulds were used for the building as a whole,' adds Ott Kadarik, one of the Kosmos partners.

The architects say their aim was to use different and also 'honest' materials; to create a warm and intimate look. 'Our idea was to use the material to become the building itself. We used brick's specific character to create a wall surface that wouldn't look like 'glued-on' wallpaper. Material has to be part of the space. We find it boring when materials are mostly prefabricated. This leads to a unified facade system where an architect can make only a little difference here and there. We have been trying to modify the materials ourselves, and to work with Estonian-made products. You can't produce glass here, but you can mould bricks or metal,' notes Mihkel Tüür, the building's third designer.

The new building consists of four different apartment houses connected at ground level by a two-storey 'shopping plateau'. The artificial plateau twists and bends around the buildings, creating openings to the brightly lit underground world as well as framed views to the outside world. There has been a tangible desire to create a lively urban living environment, a place surrounded by a variety of programmes and activities, small shops and restaurants, and not just an amusement park for the tourists emerging from the nearby passenger terminal, Tallinn's biggest tourist pump. Although the new complex contains only 150 apartments, it may well be the starting point for larger residential developments in the area. 'It all depends on how these people use the space,' say the architects. 'During the Second World War most of the people moved away from the centre, and central Tallinn is still quite empty. But life is returning slowly.'