People's Favourite Building Design Confirmed as New Heart of Ülemiste City
Mainor Ülemiste Supervisory Board has confirmed that the winner of the architectural competition in which four top Estonian firms were invited to design a commercial building in the heart of Ülemiste City was won by Architectural Design Office PLUSS. The same design also received an overwhelming support of the public on Facebook.
The four top Estonian architect firms participating in the competition submitted their designs for renovating and extending an 1899 limestone factory building located at Sepapaja 10 in the very centre of Ülemiste City.
Chairman of the Mainor Ülemiste Supervisory Board Guido Pärnits explained that they were looking for a special building that would really stand out in the centre of the hub. “We received four excellent projects. Therefore, I am happy that all parties – the jury consisting of architects and experts, our Supervisory Board and the people – were of the same opinion about the winner,” Pärnits said. The plan is to complete the design process by spring 2019, receive the building permit by the end of 2019 and start construction in 2021.
The winning work by Architectural Design Office PLUSS is called the “epiCentre”. According to the detailed plan the size of the building right is 50 000 m2, making the building at Sepapaja 10 effectively the largest structure to be renovated in Ülemiste City.
The vision of the winning design is built on three pillars: the limestone building to be renovated, an innovative rectangular 3-storey office block, which also includes a pedestrian street and is located in the eastern side of the plot and a new O-shaped 9-storey main section rising above the whole structure. A secluded roof garden is the cherry on the cake.
Copper and a lighter shade of limestone are the construction materials to be used. Vertical copper ribs covering the façade are key decorative elements that amplify the form of the building and are well suited for the atmosphere of the industrial landscape.
The other three firms invited to participate in the architectural competition were Allianss Arhitektid, KOKO Arhitektid and HG Arhitektuur.
Chairman of the Mainor Ülemiste Supervisory Board Guido Pärnits explained that they were looking for a special building that would really stand out in the centre of the hub. “We received four excellent projects. Therefore, I am happy that all parties – the jury consisting of architects and experts, our Supervisory Board and the people – were of the same opinion about the winner,” Pärnits said. The plan is to complete the design process by spring 2019, receive the building permit by the end of 2019 and start construction in 2021.
The winning work by Architectural Design Office PLUSS is called the “epiCentre”. According to the detailed plan the size of the building right is 50 000 m2, making the building at Sepapaja 10 effectively the largest structure to be renovated in Ülemiste City.
The vision of the winning design is built on three pillars: the limestone building to be renovated, an innovative rectangular 3-storey office block, which also includes a pedestrian street and is located in the eastern side of the plot and a new O-shaped 9-storey main section rising above the whole structure. A secluded roof garden is the cherry on the cake.
Copper and a lighter shade of limestone are the construction materials to be used. Vertical copper ribs covering the façade are key decorative elements that amplify the form of the building and are well suited for the atmosphere of the industrial landscape.
The other three firms invited to participate in the architectural competition were Allianss Arhitektid, KOKO Arhitektid and HG Arhitektuur.
