Taru complex set to become Estonia’s largest wooden building

A three-building complex housing Estonia’s Nature Museum and environmental institutions is due to be completed in November in Tallinn’s Noblessner district, ERR reported.

Called Taru, a shortened form of the Estonian words for “smart space,” the complex next to the Seaplane Harbour museum consists of a dock building with curved glass facades, an adjoining city building with offices and a museum building built partly underground.

Taru will be Estonia’s largest wooden building. Much of its structure, facades and interior finishes are made of wood, including the prominent curved glulam ceiling structures in the dock building.

The dock building’s curved wooden structures were inspired by the nature centre’s location by the sea and the area’s historical links to shipbuilding, Maaleht reported.

The dock building will also provide access to the Nature Museum. Although construction is expected to finish in November, designing and installing the museum exhibition will take at least another year, meaning the museum is scheduled to open at the end of 2027.

Other parts of the complex will be available sooner. These include a seaside cafe in the dock building, as well as office space and facilities for organising events.

The dock building’s lobby will remain open to city residents, while the city building will mainly serve employees of institutions working on environmental issues.

The land around Taru has been divided into plots, each of which will feature a plant community representing Estonian nature. Plants have also been brought into the dock building’s lobby, and vegetation is expected to grow on the concrete wall of the Nature Museum.

Taru is being built according to the winning design from an international architecture competition held in 2019. The project was designed by architects Siiri Vallner, Indrek Peil, Kristel Niisuke and Ko Ai of the Estonian architecture firm Kavakava.

The main contractor is Nordecon, whose winning bid was valued at 54.4 million euros plus VAT. With a total floor area of 24,600 square metres, the cost is about 2,200 euros per square metre.