Viimsi State Gymnasium to be completed in autumn has its cornerstone

Today, the Minister of Education and Research Mailis Reps, the Chairman of the Management Board of Riigi Kinnisvara AS Kati Kusmin, the Member of the Management Board of Merko Ehitus Eesti Jaan Mäe, the Rural Municipality Mayor of Viimsi Siim Kallas and the Head of School of Viimsi State Gymnasium Karmen Paul laid the first stone of the Viimsi State Gymnasium building to be opened in autumn.

“The cornerstone laying ceremony for the first state gymnasium in Harjumaa is a happy event for the jubilee year of the republic. Even more important than the cornerstone is the journey itself – this has been an excellent example of cooperation between the community, the government and the republic. The content is to be completed by the dedicated teachers and students in autumn,” said the Minister of Education and Research Mailis Reps.

This modern gymnasium building intended for 540 students will be built on a plot of 8,830 square metres next to Tammepõllu tee in Haabneeme, Viimsi, Harjumaa. The total area to be occupied by the building is 2,500 square metres. The net area of the planned school building is approximately 4,150 square metres.

“A creative and functional learning environment, which takes into account leisure activities in addition to learning activities, played an important role in the designing of the Viimsi State Gymnasium. In terms of the building, it was essential to create a construction with the lowest possible energy consumption,” said Kati Kusmin.

The new school building is scheduled to open in autumn 2018. It is the first state gymnasium in Harjumaa. According to Siim Kallas, rural municipality mayor of Viimsi, the creation of a state gymnasium is a major challenge. “A school is like an educational mecca, playing an important role in leading regional development. For us, this means managing educational innovation to bring together communities, science and experts, and, in cooperation, to offer opportunities for the acquisition of the best possible education,” said the mayor.

“Both the form and the content are interrelated. Viimsi Gymnasium – it is the creation of both the new school building and the completely new learning community. It is important to us that this environment-friendly building is a student, teacher and learning friendly. It is based on the best experience of both the Ministry of Education and Research and Riigi Kinnisvara in the creation of state gymnasiums, and on the 151-year-old best experience in education provision in Viimsi,” said the Head of School of Viimsi Gymnasium Karmen Paul.

BIM (Building Information Modelling) was used in the design of the building. The use of Building Information Modelling makes it easier to assess the future energy demand, administrative expenses and ease of use of the building projected. The use of BIM also enables to ensure the high quality of design and avoid potential building problems already during the design. Silver Ader, BIM-project manager at RKAS, explained that the Viimsi State Gymnasium is one of the first buildings in Estonia for which the builder will also prepare the as-built model that reflects the changes made during the construction and additional information generated in the construction phase. “An as-built model is a practical tool in the management period of the building, and greatly contributes to the digitisation of the management and maintenance of the building.”

The authors of the architectural design “CLT” of the Viimsi State Gymnasium building are Novarc Group AS and KAMP Arhitektid OÜ (Jan Skolimowski, Peeter Loo and Kaspar Kruuse). The contract for the design and construction of the building was concluded between Riigi Kinnisvara AS and Merko Infra AS, belonging to the AS Merko Ehitus Eesti group, on 2 October 2017.