Architects from Warsaw-based Grupa 5, in cooperation with the Estonian office Sirkel & Mall, won 2nd prize in the competition for the design of the development of the Tallinn Fishing Port! They were preceded only by a local studio — Arhitekt Must.
A promenade, market and recreational complex with a marina for yachts and motorboats are to be built in the vicinity of the Linnahall arena built on the occasion of the 1980 Summer Olympics (designed by Raine Karp and Riina Altmäe) and the Estonian Museum of Contemporary Art (ECKM), created from the bottom up. Through an open competition, the landowner sought ideas for developing the 7,500-square-meter area. Thirteen works were submitted, among them a proposal by the Grupa 5 Architekci team. The jury of the competition organized by the Kapitel development company was headed by Hanno Grossschmidt, an Estonian architect.
The port area is currently undergoing intensive revitalization. The new design is expected to ensure that this part of the city opens up to the sea, with successively emerging developments (a hotel, a creative hub and a residential neighborhood) connected by a promenade.
competition boards
© Grupa 5 Architekci
complex linked by promenade
The project envisages a multifunctional solution of two public and commercial buildings integrated with each other by a seaside promenade, outdoor terraces, swimming pools and a plaza — explain the assumptions of the architects from the Warsaw studio. — The idea of the project is to create a horizontal spatial arrangement of the interiors and exteriors of the buildings, forming an architecturally coherent whole. The functions and spaces of the building are arranged in the form of layers and terraces descending from the northern corner of the site to the south towards the center of Tallinn. The highest elements of the development — the roofs and terraces of the captain's building descend towards the swimming pools and the terrace covering the function of the fish market located at the ground level. The space of the marina merges with the square area — they add.
port-marina building
© Grupa 5 Architekci
The three main points of the premise — the waterfront promenade, the fish market and the harbor-marina building — form an urban coherent whole connected to the bathing area opening onto the square. The architects also envisioned in the design a pedestrian footbridge over the Kalasadama canal.
marine inspirations
In the competition proposal, the architects were inspired by a fishing net — on its basis they created geometric forms, into which they then inscribed both the layout of the area and the details — the drawing of the floor, benches or visual identification.
The net is the base of the design, which can be found everywhere, it creates a kind of megastructure, its form grows as it goes deeper into the space of the plot, the architects explain.
The pattern thickens gradually — at the entrance to the boulevard the shape of the network is signaled only in the form of benches and floor lines, it intensifies on the elements of the ceiling of the market hall. The network organizes itself and becomes clearer at the central point of the establishment — on the square, and its culmination can be seen on the building of the harbor master's office, here — as the architects explain — the network is transformed into the plastic form of the facade and ultimately defines the form of the project.
The fish market building takes advantage of the differences in ground and water levels. Placing the commercial part in the ground floor and planning the open space allowed to create a spatial market designed for fish trade. The interior of the market is filled with natural light thanks to skylights placed in the roof.
market building
© Grupa 5 Architekci
The roof of the market, with landscaped greenery in geometric pots, refers in its form to a seaside dune. The sloping pots of dune greenery allow for the play of shadows visible from the higher terraces of the harbor. The geometry of the roof's elements and the greenery growing on it is a free interpretation of the form of the net lying on the seaside dune disappearing in the sand that covers it, the project description reads.
The second building — the marina — is multifunctional, housing commercial rental space, a spa with saunas opening to the outdoor pools, harbor service rooms, a café and a restaurant. The entire building, the architects point out, is tied together by a strip of wide stairs climbing along the pools in a northerly direction to further terraces up to the building's roof.
port-marina building, view of the pool
© Grupa 5 Architekci
The project provides access for floating boats and parked boats to the marina located along the promenade. Access to the beach promenade from both sides has been provided for cleaning, operational and maintenance vehicles, as well as fish market supplies. Parking spaces are located in the arcade of the captain's house and along the ramp located to the south of the lot, which passes into the promenade — the architects add.
