Plans floated for new concert hall at Tallinn's Skoone Bastion
Plans for a new concert hall at Skoone Bastion for the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir are being by the City of Tallinn.
Since late autumn, Tallinn has been discussing the idea of building a new concert hall in the Skoone bastion area close to the Old Town instead of at Harju Oru near the Kiek in de Kök museum. All parties believe this is a better location.
Two initial designs have been created for the concert hall and are being discussed with heritage protection. Special conditions will need to be applied to the design as the concert hall would be built in a protected area and an international architecture competition is also required.
Kristjan Hallik, a member of the board of ERSO Foundation, said discussions with the city have been productive and the designs are worth considering. He also said the building will become a mixed cultural space.
"Certainly we would not occupy this hall in such a way that no one else can use it. We image that we would have good cooperation with the art academy and young artists in this space, so that a good creative environment would be created here for the next hundred years," he told ETV's "Aktuaalne kaamera" on Thursday.
Karli Luik, an architect at the architectural firm Molumba, which has created one of the sketches, said the concert hall will help bring a currently unused part of the city back into use and connect it better to the Old Town. There would also be an outdoor stage and cafes, she said.
The history of Skoone Bastion
Skoone Bastion, also known as Skåne bastion or Rannamägi, is the mightiest Baroque fortification building in Tallinn, Visit Tallinn writes. The bastion gets its name from a South Swedish province, Skane and dates from around 1680-1710.
In 1948, a Stalinist summer theatre building was opened on one part of the bastions, which was the biggest wooden building at that time in Estonia. In 1997 the summer theatre burnt down. As part of the cultural capital year in 2011 for the summer season the distinctive, temporary, Straw Theatre was built on the Skoone bastion.
In the surrounding area, different playgrounds have been put up. Skoone bastion park is also home to the first parkour ground in the whole of Eastern Europe.
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Editor: Helen Wright
