Noblessner

Brief information

The Noblessner quarter grew up on the site of a factory where submarines were built, and therefore it does not read like an ordinary new waterfront development. Here, modern residential and office buildings stand alongside factory buildings from the early 20th century: some of the old buildings have been preserved, reconstructed, and given new functions. As a result, the district shows not only Tallinn’s maritime frontage, but also how an industrial area became an urban space for work, housing, culture, and leisure.

An important paradox of Noblessner is that it is a private public space. The territory is privately owned, but by law it must be open to the public. This fact changes the way one sees the quarter: the streets, squares, promenades, and converted workshops here are arranged as an urban environment, even though they grew out of a former factory site.

What to notice right away

It is worth comparing the old factory buildings with the new houses. The warehouse at 11 Peetri Street, with its massive limestone walls, shows the heavy industrial shell that the quarter chose not to erase. The shipbuilding and foundry workshop at 10 Peetri Street is now occupied by the Proto discovery factory; its good acoustics remind us that a large workshop can be read not only by its size, but also by its internal volume. The ship systems workshop at 12 Peetri Street has become the Kai Art Center, and the name itself, meaning “quay,” maintains the connection with the port environment.

Street details show the same principle of reuse. The red lighting masts are stylized as port cranes, while a former lamppost has been turned into the light installation “Nest” with three “stork eggs.” The new development is also subordinated to the layout of the streets: parking is hidden underground, and ramps have been moved inside the buildings so as not to take up the roadway and pedestrian space.