The EAA project: A room with a view on the Tallin UNESCO site

Ref.: 246
Key theme: 03 Visual integrity of historic urban landscapes
Date of reception: 28/10/2008

AUTHORS (*Main author)

PIRAZZOLI, Giacomo * (Italy) - University of Florence

ABSTRACT

The project for the EAA (Estonian Academy of Arts) highlight the visual relationship among the historical center of Tallin ­ classed UNESCO world heritage ­ and the new building, which is fully centered on a "room with a view", the cafeteria on the roof. By this point of view, both conservation and innovation are kept together as main tasks: the historic urban landscape appears poetically suspended on the leaves of the existing trees, and for that it reinforces its peculiar presence in the contemporary skyline.

At the architecture scale the Glasshouse with the fragment of Betula forest and rare flowers from threatened Estonian species surrounds the AUDITORIUM COURT, containing and displaying nature as a green world in a box, like a natura artificialis.
Special attention is focused on the achievement of high energy efficiency, on the integration of systems using renewable energies and on the maintening of high global comfort levels in the building, guaranteeing, at the same time, the safeguard of the environment.
This task is obtained adopting an integrated planning strategy based on the principles of environmental "maintenance" focused on:
- SIMPLE STRUCTURE (hardware) with basic qualifications, to be continued in horizontal: the main structure is in reinforced concrete, with plan libre; the timber formwork will be let in place and properly worked to became the skin of the structure itself, avoiding waste of wood and at the same time giving good thermal insulation values to the building and comfort to the users;
- CLEAR DISTRIBUTION to save surface occupancy and the existing trees: properly dimensioned stairs, elevators and corridors, together with the adoption of a floor heating system, make possible to have the maximum surface available at any floor; among the consequences, it's not anymore necessary to build part of West-facing body, rising 20m H on the top of the trees: no trees will never grown in the shadow of a building, neither roots will love concrete acid presence around.
- SIMPLE DETAILING: the external perimeter is described by the wooden-glass continuum façade element, which is the main object to be designed, allowing any kind of harmonic variations with its glass component 30-45-60cm; this also make possible the creation of a continuum among the Building 1 and the Building 2 (when completed in phase 2 easily by removing the standard façade element and continuing it in Building 2;
- MAXIMUM FLEXIBILITY of any interior space: natural light crosses the building from a facade to the opposite other, as the internal corridors have opaque polyurethane or glass walls. All of the other elements (orthogonal to the facade) are drywall (with wooden structure, triple plasterboard and biofiber acoustic natural insulator) and can be easily moved to join any further development of the EAA spatial program, or even any re-configuration due to the 1st and 2nd construction phase;
- HI-RECYCLING components: all of the components of the interior of the building are fully recyclable and basically natural (glass, wood, biofiber etc.);

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