Kamp Architects plans landmark extension for Pärnu beach building

Kamp Architects has won a competition to extend Pärnu beach building, a landmark built in 1938 and 1939, while preserving its historic character, ERR reported. The proposal, titled Alt Pernau, would connect the building with a modern hotel and a new, larger structure.

The project also includes the Villa Andropoff complex, built during the Soviet era. The beach building no longer meets the needs of holidaymakers, and the competition held in autumn 2025 sought a way to give it a new lease of life without losing its original style and form.

Architect Jan Skolimowski, who designed the project with Anton Andres and Kaspar Kruuse, said the building had become a symbol of Pärnu over nearly a century.

The architects visited the building several times before preparing their proposal to determine what should be preserved, restored or changed. They found that the seaside facade was representative, while the side facing the park resembled a backyard or service entrance.

The design therefore aims to make the park-facing side more presentable as well. “A building in such a central location in the city does not really have a rear facade,” Skolimowski said. “Both facades must be visible.”

The new hotel was designed first around how it would function for guests and staff. The architects considered guest movements, service operations and other functions before turning to the building’s form.

One of the most difficult issues was connecting the historic beach building with the larger new structure. The buildings could not be joined at street level, so the proposal places the connections underground and through a gallery at second-floor level.

The underground route was designed to make it easy to reach the hotel from the car park. For example, a family arriving with luggage should be able to reach reception as quickly and logically as possible. The architects tested these routes through different use scenarios.

Rather than copying the old building, the new design develops its distinctive features. It incorporates rounded forms, the mushroom balcony motif and small arches at the building’s corners.

“These small details ultimately create the whole. Wherever you are at the building’s corner, it speaks the same language,” Skolimowski said.

To restore the historic building’s original appearance, the architects consulted archives and old photographs. An extension built during the Soviet era had damaged part of the original facade, and original drawings had not survived for every side of the building. The available material was used to restore the original section before linking it to the new architecture.

The architects also looked to the existing building when choosing materials. The article ends as Skolimowski begins describing the material solution.