The open air museum is a semi-public urban park and the complex will add to its active use the whole year round.
Typologically, the complex is more of a piece of landscape infrastructure than a building. A slit in the ground stretching from the road towards the sea creates a central street with rooms demanding natural light at its sides: workshops, auditoria, offices, visitors‘ spaces, etc. Placing different functions next to each other creates a classical, naturally diverse urban street. Contemporary glass facades face each other and intervene in the historical setting in a minimal way.
The conceptual extension of the street ends with a viewing platform over the sea. The axis may also divide the area into a public, semi-public, and ticket zone.
The walls on the perimeter and sides of roof terraces are lined with gabions. The grass roofs are walkable, gentle steps on the entrance are moulded of earth – this allows the existing pine trees to be preserved and new ones planted.
Location: Vabaõhumuuseumi tee, Rocca al Mare, Tallinn, Estonia
Client: Estonian Open air museum
Competition: 2007, I prize
Project: 2014…
Architects: Siiri Vallner, Indrek Peil
Total floor area: ~10 000 m2