An Entire Fahle Quarter Worth of Houses Got Names
All of Fahle's life and business quarter buildings, both historical and new, have been given names. This is a unique concept for distinguishing buildings in the area. Among the names you'll find Fahle Media House, Fahle Boiler House and Fahle Chimney, Coppersmith's Yard and Courtyard House – behind each name stands its own unique building with its own story.
"Naming buildings has both emotional and practical value – a name is easier to remember than an address and it's simple to use. A name creates connections and makes a building recognizable. For example, many Tallinners know the famous Fahle building by heart and can find their way there. Well-known buildings function as landmarks that help with orientation, and hopefully we'll see more of these in Tallinn now," said Fahle Park developer Sven Mihailov.
The entire quarter will be equipped with signage to help locate the buildings. "The Fahle area itself offered excellent conditions for naming the buildings, since each building in Fahle Town is like its own attraction that stands out both in terms of interesting architecture and quality, and meets the highest requirements of the BREEAM green certification," said Sandra Metsa, head of sales and marketing at Fausto Capital.
First to be named was the historical limestone building on Tartu Avenue, Fahle Courtyard House, which is located around a landscaped inner courtyard where the Rock Cafe parking lot once stood. Fahle Media House greets visitors from Lastekodu Street as a new glass building on a brick building, which fits well alongside the historical limestone buildings. The media channels belonging to Duo Media operate in the Media House – exactly as the building's name suggests.
Moving further into the heart of Fahle, the historical boiler house with its chimney stands on the way, which was named accordingly as Fahle Boiler House and Fahle Chimney. "In Fahle Boiler House, a large light-filled boiler interior will open up spanning multiple floors, where offices will be located. From the boiler house you can continue into the chimney made of red bricks, which houses an elevator and a spiral staircase leading to a glass viewing platform," described Mihailov the plans for the building awaiting renovation.
Fahle Boiler House will be connected to Fahle Coppersmith's Yard through an underground gallery, where wagons once traveled and carried oil shale and coal. The name Coppersmith's Yard refers to the region's history from 300 years ago, when 8 water mills were located in that area by the Härjapea River, including several copper mills. In honor of this, the facade of the new building will be built in copper color. Construction on Coppersmith's Yard hasn't started yet, but a building permit has been issued for it. The building will have 2 underground and 14 above-ground floors, with the 6 lower floors being parking levels followed by offices.
The other two entirely new buildings on Tartu Avenue in Fahle Town form their own synergy: Fahle Terraces and Fahle Portal. Both buildings will be nicely visible to those arriving in Tallinn from Tartu and will add a modern rhythm to Tallinn's first impression. Fahle Terraces is Estonia's first high-rise building with wooden construction, which got its name from the large stepped landscaped terraces of the building. The building's anchor tenant will be If Insurance and it will be completed next year. A 14-story building called Fahle Portal, which has passed an architectural competition, will soon be built in its immediate vicinity. The Portal will mark an important gateway of the Fahle quarter for those traveling from the direction of Ülemiste through the tunnel. An active urban space with cafes and seating areas will be created around the building, directing visitors further into the heart of Fahle. The Portal has a memorable sculptural form and at the same time fits both Fahle's historical industrial environment and immediate proximity to the traffic corridor. Construction of the Portal will potentially begin in 2025 and be completed in 2028.
