Merko builds the Arter quarter

Kapitel develops and Merko builds a high-quality and healthy working environment in Liivalaia, renamed the Arter quarter, for companies that value their employees. The quarter with a total leasable area of 38,000 sq m and a park will be completed in the Q3 2024.

“Arter is a people-centred urban space in the centre of Tallinn. A new meeting place for generating bold and creative ideas, it will shape the jobs of the future. This is a place for companies that value their employees and with whom we will create a higher-quality, healthier and more inspiring work environment,” said Allan Remmelkoor, Kapitel’s Project Director.

“The Arter concept is based on changed work culture and higher expectations for the work environment. The home office and distance work alone cannot maintain a valuable team or attract talent; a common inspiring environment is needed to keep relationships of trust in a team. That is why we contribute to the creation of a social space that connects different office spaces into a whole and forms a common ecosystem. We pay special attention to creating outdoor green areas for different uses because just 30 minutes of fresh air a day makes us more efficient and creative,” added Remmelkoor.

In addition to office space, the Arter quarter will have various meeting rooms, co-creative areas, a library, courtyards and cafés. There will be a town square in front of the buildings, a 500 sq m urban garden on the roof terrace of the 15-storey office building, and a public park in the riverbed area of the former Härjapea River. 

“In terms of volume, the Arter quarter is one of the largest and most demanding projects in Estonia. The technical solutions and environmental friendliness of the buildings, as well as the customer’s expectations for the first-class quality of the environment and the public urban space present a challenge to Merko as well as all the partners and contractors. Complexes corresponding to the BREEAM Excellent level are rarely built in Estonia and are therefore all the more valuable,” said Ivo Volkov, Chairman of the Management Board of Merko Ehitus Eesti.

“The increased health requirements for the environment in recent years have come to stay—our offices will have better than standard ventilation and also air humidification, which is rare in Estonian office buildings. We will apply additional solutions to ensure air cleanliness in common areas. All this will make the people working here healthier and, thanks to that, more creative and happier,” added Remmelkoor. The offices will have first-class indoor climate, the free height of the floors is at least three metres, and some of the offices have a full-height glass facade. Raised floors provide flexibility for changing the layout and location of workplaces.

“The increasingly popular 15-minute city concept applies in our quarter, and what’s more, we can talk about a-few-minutes city in terms of the services consumed during the working day. Thanks to this, the people working in Arter will save hours of valuable time every week,” said Remmelkoor. Kapitel created the concept for the indoor streets on the ground floor and the greenery in the indoor square in cooperation with the internationally experienced London-based architectural firm StudioN. Three restaurants will open in the quarter, including a restaurant with a rooftop terrace on the 28th floor. Facilities include a sports club with a swimming pool, relaxation pools, saunas and an outdoor terrace, health and beauty services and child care.

The Arter quarter consists of a 28-, 15- and 9-storey building and a connecting central building with a parking garage. The quarter, with a total rental area of 38,000 sq m, will have 29,000 sq m of high-quality office space, 6,000 sq m of various catering and service premises and 3,000 sq m of rental apartments. The near-zero energy buildings with environmentally friendly energy solutions are designed and built according to the BREEAM Excellent standard. Energy piles and district cooling are used to cover the cooling and heating needs of the buildings, and 11 lifts will serve the quarter. The architect of the quarter is Martin Aunin and the interior architect is Arhitekt11.

The two-storey underground car park and parking garage will have a total of 470 parking spaces, a car wash, the largest indoor bicycle parking area in Estonia for 90 bicycles, a bicycle wash and repair area, and changing and shower rooms. The entire project will be completed in the third quarter of 2024, including its public park, the new Veski Street and the renovated section of Imanta Street, which will ensure safe and peaceful traffic around the quarter.

More information: www.arter.ee