Apartment building in Tallinn, Estonia

The architects of the building wanted the five-story residential building located directly on the beach promenade to appear smaller than it actually is. Therefore, from the outset, the plan was to use three-layer concrete panels for the facades of the fifth-floor penthouse apartments, using different materials from the main floors to give them an exclusive and "penthouse-like" appearance. As the first floors of the neighboring buildings were made of rust-colored patinated concrete and the top floor was dark gray, the idea arose that the color scheme of the planned building could be the opposite, both blending in and standing out at the same time.

Wanting the top floor of the building to appear lighter than the others, but at the same time be durable and easy to maintain in a seaside environment, the architects opted for a steel facade cladding. Initially, Ruukki Cort-Ten steel facade panels were planned to be used, but after consulting with the manufacturer, it was realized that with heavily articulated wall surfaces covered with deep cantilevered canopies, the rust characteristic of Cor-Ten would likely form unevenly and spoil the desired exterior appearance. Therefore, it was decided to use Ruukki Liberta Original 102 Grande rainscreen panels coated with bronze and metallic paint.

Due to the complex exterior shape of the floor, there were numerous specially shaped panels joining at different angles, which made it practical to construct the edges, sides, and lower surfaces of the canopies from aluminum composite panels instead of facade cassettes. Due to availability, this resulted in some color variation in the materials, which the architects had not initially taken into account. However, their initial fears proved unfounded, as the surfaces at different angles of the completed building playfully reflect the changing weather conditions by the sea, yet solidly, perfectly conveying the Mediterranean beach villa concept that was sought from the outset with its spacious terraces, deep canopies, and 180-degree sea views.

Excellent cooperation with Ruukki specialists played an important role in achieving the final result. Based on the architects' experience, Ruukki's product range is diverse, high-quality, and constantly evolving, and its product advice is among the most architect-friendly in Estonia.

In this building we have used GreenCoat® - A Nordic quality sustainable steel from SSAB.