Tallinn Mayor Peeter Raudsepp said on Wednesday that renovating and maintaining the Linnahall building is beyond what taxpayers can afford and that it should, therefore, be demolished.

Anita Staub, head of the built heritage department at the National Heritage Board, told ERR that it is not possible to organize the demolition of protected monuments in such a manner.

"Tallinn Linnahall is certainly one of the most important masterpieces of modernist architecture in the Estonian context and, as such, one of the country's most significant landmark buildings. In that capacity, it is also protected as a listed building," she said.

Staub added that, under the Heritage Conservation Act, removing a structure from protection is a very specific bureaucratic process based on the premise that the object no longer holds cultural value. As an example, she cited situations where a building has been destroyed by fire and heritage specialists reassess whether anything remains worth preserving.

"In the case of Linnahall, we cannot speak in those terms at present, because the building remains highly valuable and is, moreover, in quite acceptable condition," Staub said, referring to a construction-technical analysis commissioned by the Tallinn City Government last year, which surprisingly assessed parts of the load-bearing structures as being in very good condition.

Aet Ader, president of the Association of Estonian Architects, pointed out that Linnahall is the work of a young author — Raine Karp began the project at the age of 36. It is also now undoubtedly one of Estonia's most famous buildings, having received considerable recognition and attracting visitors from all over.

"Even while closed, the Architecture Center organizes numerous tours and thousands of people come just to see the building itself," Ader noted.

She also highlighted Linnahall's good condition: according to the expert assessment, its main structures and foundation are sound and there has been no subsidence.

"The roof does need attention — water permeability has been an issue — as do the facades and the roof. Beyond that, the question is what putting it in order actually means; what does renovation mean today?" Ader said.

She explained that when people think of renovation, they tend to picture something like what was done with Raine Karp's other well-known building, the National Library, which was thoroughly refurbished. However, across Europe there is an increasing emphasis on preserving as much of the original as possible.

"In Linnahall, soft furnishings have not survived the moisture, but a great deal has been preserved, which means it does not need to be polished to the very last detail — the existing structure could simply be given a new life," Ader said.

New function instead of demolition

Staub noted that now that the results of the construction-technical study are available, a plan should be developed in cooperation on how to halt the building's further deterioration.

"Linnahall is eagerly awaiting its fate and I think that instead of talking about demolition, we should actively be looking for a new function for it, because this site has very great potential for use and I believe there is also public interest in making use of such a powerful building," Staub said, adding that the study results had been awaited in previous years.

Ader considers partial reconstruction of Linnahall to be a natural step. She noted that the city of Tallinn itself has been moving in that direction, particularly in terms of redeveloping the ice hall section, where a concert hall and facilities for the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (ERSO) are planned.

According to her, part of the business plan could also involve granting development rights to build next to and around Linnahall, as was last proposed when the capital intended to reach an agreement with Tallink regarding the site, before the coronavirus pandemic derailed those plans.

"Its future could indeed be as a multifunctional hall for rock concerts as well as a convention center. The Pirita tee exhibition center is set to be demolished and Tallinn does not have a good venue for large conferences or fairs. It has a very good location, with public transport nearby, the sea close by and the possibility to expand outdoors," Ader listed.

The Tallinn Architecture Biennale will take place this fall and according to the president of the Association of Estonian Architects, discussions are underway with city authorities for it to be held in the Linnahall building. Ader added that she strongly supports using Linnahall as much as possible, even on a temporary basis.

"Perhaps it is difficult to appreciate what is not yet there or what already exists but has dusty walls and metal grilles in front of the windows," Ader said.

She added that not all buildings can be preserved, but among Soviet-era architecture, Linnahall is undoubtedly the most dignified and popular and deserves to be preserved for future generations.

An architect's compromise: Linnahall should be split down the middle

Architect Ülar Mark has proposed the idea of splitting Tallinn's Linnahall lengthwise in two. He explained that renovating the building in its current form would be such a major financial burden that he does not see it as feasible.

"The next step would be to add more windows, partially demolish it, but even then it would not make sense to preserve it, because it is extremely expensive and very complicated and functionality still would not be resolved. In that case, the historic Linnahall would not be preserved either," Mark said.

According to the architect, these considerations leave very few options: either find a very large amount of funding or demolish the building entirely — and his compromise idea is to divide the structure in half. He pointed out that the building was constructed symmetrically, as a mirror image on both sides.

"If we divide it exactly in half, it would, in a way, open everything up. The remaining half would gain natural light — one could imagine a glass wall along its entire length — we would gain access to the sea, create a full promenade and it could accommodate the entire Estonia Theater complex together with a philharmonic hall, as well as city government offices and a 3,500-seat auditorium, with room to spare," Mark explained.

In discussions about Linnahall's future, he believes the building's sheer scale is often overlooked. Mark drew a comparison to the restoration of the Knighthood House on Toompea, which required significant effort and funding over many years. The area encompassed by Linnahall, he noted, is comparable to the entirety of Toompea, including the Russian Orthodox cathedral, the Riigikogu building and all surrounding squares and open spaces.

"When a building of this scale has no windows and blocks the seaside in the middle of the city, it cannot continue in its current form," Mark said.

Under his proposal, splitting the building would make restoration about half as expensive and original elements from the demolished half could be reused in the remaining section. The amphitheater would still retain more than 3,000 seats and could become functional again, unlike the current layout, which is impractical due to its size and seating arrangement.

He also noted that on the side of the building that receives afternoon sun lies the Kalaranna development area, where modern architecture could be introduced, creating a contrast between old and new. This would preserve the building's monumental, bastion-like visual concept while also revealing a distinctly modern cross-section of the historic structure.

Mark added that he has consulted structural engineers, who confirmed that dividing the main hall would be feasible without major complications.

"Clearly, the ice hall would have to be demolished — there is less heritage value there. This is entirely realistic," the architect said.

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