A Cornerstone Was Laid for the Next Phase in Uus-Mustamäe
Housing development company Bonava laid the cornerstone for the next phase of New Mustamäe, with a four- and eight-story residential building at Aiandi 18 containing a total of 66 apartments, which will be ready for move-in by the end of this year.
The cornerstone ceremony was for Bonava's largest development, the ninth phase of the New Mustamäe residential quarter. At the traditional time capsule placement ceremony, Bonava development manager Margus Klaos praised the construction team: "It may seem like we're just building another development phase here, specifically the 22nd and 23rd building in the quarter. But in reality, this is fulfilling someone's dream of a new home for decades to come. So that this dream lasts and meets expectations, we're laying a strong cornerstone here today."
According to beliefs, the cornerstone holds all the other stones together. This is why the tradition of laying a cornerstone in construction is maintained with great respect, so that the buildings stand firm and the residents are satisfied with their homes. It is customary to place symbolically meaningful lucky items in a time capsule inside the cornerstone. The time capsule at Aiandi 18 contains:
a piece of charcoal, to keep fire disasters away;
Bonava bread and money, so that no resident of the building would go hungry;
a memory stick with project documentation, so that information about the apartments would be preserved forever;
the newspaper "Müürileht" and the latest printout of the company's newsletter, to mark the time when the cornerstone was laid;
seeds, thinking of future generations and remembering the history of the Kadaka Aiandi area;
a rowan berry, to bring happiness to the homes and keep evil spirits away;
Bonava's construction manager's business card, which he places in every time capsule.
Bonava, which sold the most new homes in Tallinn last year, has been developing the New Mustamäe residential area since 2019, and by now 750 families live in the residential quarter. New Mustamäe stands out in the area as a new living environment that is quiet, while at the same time being in close proximity to good transport connections and services. The center of the quarter features an approximately 7,000-square-meter park with playgrounds, fruit trees, a picnic area, an outdoor gym and a pumptrack trick trail.
