“The goal we had set in renovating Terminal D was to build a modern and convenient facility for the visitors coming to Tallinn and Estonia as well as local residents whose sea journey starts here. The now completed terminal building offers travellers much larger waiting and seating areas; a playground for children has been added, and there is more space for cafés and shops,” said Valdo Kalm, the chairman of the board at the Port of Tallinn. “Our other priority in addition to passenger comfort was sustainability: for instance, the energy needs of the building are partially covered by solar electricity, and indoor climate is automatically regulated depending on the temperature outside.”
Gerd Müller, the chairman of the board at Nordecon, the general contractor for the construction of Terminal D, says the primary challenge during the two year reconstruction was to organise the process in such a way that would allow travellers to use the terminal at the same time. “We would like to thank all the passengers for their patience, and we believe that all travellers arriving in and departing from Tallinn will find the newly completed bright building a pleasant place to stop at.”
“We are extremely glad that the largest gate to Estonia, which welcomes millions of people every year, can look the part at last. Tallink’s passengers will surely give the refurbished terminal a very warm welcome, and the new, contemporary port environment will definitely make marine journeys even more memorable and convenient in the future,” said Paavo Nõgene, chairman of the board at Tallink Group.
The interior design of Terminal D features modern materials, natural wood, and light colours while the windows give magnificent views of both the Old Town and the port area. A total of 3000 square metres of wooden suspended ceilings have been installed on the first and second floor, and suspended acoustic ceiling made of felt has been used on the third floor. The highlight of the terminal’s exterior is a double façade made of glass metal mesh.
On the first floor of the terminal building, travellers are welcomed by the store and the spacious atrium, from which ramps take them to the second floor, to ticket offices and the check-in area. The third floor of the terminal, where the passenger lounge is, will have acquired a work of art created specifically for public space, Eveli Variku’s “Under the Sun”, by the end of the year.
Opened in 1996, Terminal D is the point of transit for more than six million people in a regular year, providing services to the passengers of Tallink’s Finnish and Swedish routes. Renovation started in the summer of 2018; the architectural design and interior architectural design of the building were created by architects Irina Raud, Ain Kalberg, Anna Temmo and Erkki Tammeleht from R-KONSULT. The structural design and special parts design were made by SWECO Projekt AS, and the electrical, low-current and automation design were produced by Rausi OÜ. The innovative method of building information modelling (BIM) was used for designing the terminal and its utility systems.
The reconstruction of Terminal D is co-financed by the European Union within the Connecting Europe Facility project TWIN-PORT 2 no. 2014-EU-TM-0087-M.
